The Mundane Life

If You're Looking for Me. . .

2010-06-01T13:56:00.002-04:00

If you haven't found me yet, I'll be here for the next few weeks as I blog with my class. I'm just not able to maintain 2 blogs at the moment. We'll see if that's the case after the term ends.

3 Boys and a Garage Door

2010-05-09T09:46:00.013-04:00

(This is cross-posted at The Family Bed.)

I've given up. I pride myself on being a somewhat successful handyman, trying to fix most home problems myself. I tackle plumbing or electrical problems. I paint (though I loathe it), and I landscape. I've helped roof a friend's house. If Home Depot carries the supplies, I'm willing to try it. It's easy to explain my do-it-yourself nature. It's genetic. My dad fixed nearly everything around our house. He taught me much of what I know about home repair and nearly all I know about auto repair. In fact, I had to do much of our family's car maintenance and repair before I was allowed to drive the vehicles. That experience has saved me in more than one situation in which I had to McGyver-like fix a car to get me and my friends home. I've also used this knowledge to impress my wife by answering Car Talk calls correctly. Beyond these skills, and more importantly, my father gave me the gift of confidence to try repair projects.

The gray lining of this silver cloud of ability and experience is that I believe I should do these repairs myself. I have a strong puritanical push against hiring people for work I can do myself. Despite how much I hate mowing the lawn and challenging it is for me to make time to do it, I still won't hire a company to do it, and do it much better than I can. I've spent hours repairing plumbing problems that ultimately would have been cheaper to simply have called someone. I still have spare parts from trips to the hardware store I never returned. And I always feel inadequate when I do call a repairman, compelled to talk to the repairman as a means to demonstrate my prowess with repairs -- I'm not just some soft-handed academic who has never worked a day in his life.

But now that I have three small boys, it's nearly impossible to make a half-dozen trips to Home Depot and Lowe's for parts and advice. I can't simply drag power tools around the yard or house, cutting lumber or firing nails at will. Fixing a wall outlet or changing a water filter have gone from a 5-minute job to a 3-hour one. Sometimes it's more fun and sometimes it's maddening. Still, I've done most of the repairs I can around the house (except change the oil in our vehicles, which is actually cheaper at our dealership than what I can change it for, and I'd don't have used motor oil around my house for small children to get into).

It was a major blow to my repair ego when I broke down and decided to hire a repairman to replace our garage door. He's coming on Monday to give us a firm estimate, but barring some dramatic change, I know we'll hire him. With the help of a friend, I could do it. I know I could. As a friend says, "It would be easy." And it would. But many of my friends have small children and can't afford the time, and neither can I. So I will pay someone to do something I know I could do myself. I want to say it's a sign of adulthood, but I know my father would have done it himself at my age. Of course, for him, his son would have been a perfect helper, literally running with excitement to get him tools as he worked. My boys are too young, instead wanting to take tools and use them to "repair" things around the house or garage. Last summer they managed to completely disassemble their bikes.

I try to console myself by saying that lots of people hire other for these jobs. I'm helping a family business stay afloat. I have told my wife on more than once that if we can solve a problem by throwing money at it, it's worth doing. This is one of those cases. I tell myself that this phase will pass. I will be able to do more of these repairs once the boys are a little older. But I just can't get it to sit right with me. I want to do this job. It just isn't going to happen. My lawn is too long, I need to do other home repairs, and I want to spend quality time with my family.

So I'm going to pay someone to do something I could do myself. And I'm just going to have to deal with it. So it goes.

Dead Crow

2010-04-16T23:19:00.008-04:00

I was pushing my youngest through the neighborhood recently in a stroller and happened to see a dead crow in the road. It looked oddly peaceful, not something I typically associate with a dead bird. The black bird looked like it may have simply been walking along the road and decided to stop and lay down. Clearly no cars had hit it and it didn't look like other city wildlife had found it yet. In addition to looking peaceful, it looked lonely. Besides no animals finding it or other crows standing guard, the street was beautifully quiet with crisp spring air and the Maxfield Parish light of dusk.

But what really made the bird seem lonely was that no one seemed to care, not even me. At first I stared at it without really considering what I was seeing. Then I realized what it was and still had no real emotional reaction to it; I see dead animals, particularly squirrels, all the time in our neighborhood. Certainly a dead crow is no different. Crows are under-rated. They aren't considered beautiful by bird standards, and their song is more of a drunken sailor trying to pick up women outside a tattoo parlor. But crows are incredibly smart. For example, crows will bury food to save for later or dig up food or items it has seen buried. They can also be trained to perform simple tasks for rewards. Though we know some birds can be taught such tricks, most in the species can't. But why some much consideration for a crow?

My son repeated "Eh!", while pointing down the road, which means Let's Go!, and I realized the abandoned crow meant more than it appeared. How quickly I, and I suspect you, had forgotten the West Nile Virus scare that really began near the turn of this millennium. News reports covered the virus, mosquitoes, health risks, and dead birds. Now, with swine flu, a pandemic of earthquakes, and health care reform, the elevated place held by a dead bird, the modern canary in a coal mine, has been lost. The dead crow no longer represents the arrival of a deadly disease worthy of regular CDC reports and hazmat suits. No one calls the local authorities and wonders whether the bird died of natural causes or a collision with a truck or a deadly disease. Now, it is just a dead crow. And I can't help but feel a tinge of sadness for it.

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T11:01:00.002-04:00

Peeps are a fat free food.

What is the Shelf Life of a Happy Meal?

2010-03-26T23:09:00.007-04:00

I love food. Of course I love eating food, but I love cooking, shopping, and chopping food. I also like thinking about the ethics, economics, and politics of food. I know a number of authors have pointed to the problems with fast food, if it's food at all, but I always like a visual representation of some of these issues.

Nonna Joann's blog post about buying and keeping a McDonald's Happy Meal is a perfect example. She did her own experiment on how a Happy Meal would decompose over the course of a year. She bravely sets the Meal in her cubicle at work. Fortunately for her, it doesn't really decompose. She claims it doesn't even smell. The latter is difficult for me to believe, though, because I can smell McDonald's food three blocks away -- they like it that way. I was shocked by how good the meal looked after 365 days. It looked good enough for Joann to throw a birthday party for the Happy Meal rather than throw it out. Our food, real food, doesn't last a year in a freezer, let alone a year on a shelf in an office.

What's in a Happy Meal? According to McDonald's own website, the McNuggets alone in a Happy Meal contain the following ingredients:

White boneless chicken, water, food starch-modified, salt, seasoning (autolyzed yeast extract, salt, wheat starch, natural flavoring (botanical source), safflower oil, dextrose, citric acid, rosemary), sodium phosphates, seasoning (canola oil, mono- and diglycerides, extractives of rosemary). Battered and breaded with: water, enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), yellow corn flour, food starch-modified, salt, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, calcium lactate), spices, wheat starch, whey, corn starch. Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.

Depending on how you count, there are approximately 44 ingredients here. 44. Really. Okay, if I get past the 44 ingredients, which I really can't, I wonder what the hell is an antifoaming agent. When we fry chicken at home, we don't need an antifoaming agent. I've deep fried lots of things and never needed to add Dimethylpolysiloxane, whatever that is.

The barbeque sauce your kid dips those nuggets into has at least another 25 ingredients.

The fries famously have natural beef flavor. (They also have Dimethylpolysiloxane. I think McDonalds should contact my grandmother who doesn't use an antifoaming agent and makes some of the best fried chicken I've ever had.)

I'll stop there. You get the point. Now, I'm not claiming to be a purist; our boys have had fast food (though I don't think they've had Happy Meals), but it sure gives me more than a twinge of guilt. I know our society isn't exactly set up to feed people healthy food; try being out and finding fast healthy food that a hungry, dehydrated, overtired 4-year old will eat. I know why parents, including us, break down and buy quick, toxic food. And I know my boys will have more fast food on my dime in the future, but I know a little piece of me will die inside knowing (or not knowing) what is inside that food. Hopefully my boys' insides will be fine.

I love words

2010-03-17T23:40:00.000-04:00

Be sure to watch past the half-way point.

Clarity

2010-03-11T00:57:00.005-05:00

I just had spring break last week, though it often didn't feel like it. I made a point to stay home as much as I could to spend time with the family, despite my falling further and further behind on my work. A typical work day for me involves going to work in the morning between 9-10, unless I have an earlier meeting, and coming home around 4 so I can spend time with my boys before they go to bed. After they go to bed, I decompress a little while, watch bad television and then get back to work, often staying up until my bartender/server neighbor returns home.

Somehow it's never enough time. My evening work is inefficient because of the television and my general exhaustion at that time of night. Putting overtired, often screamy, 4-year old twins to bed can be exhausting.

Over the break, I didn't have the 6 or so hours of time at work to try and be productive, so all of my work happened in the evenings. After a full day of exhausting bouts of playing trains or other versions of Calvinball, I put the twins to bed (with eventual help from their mother when she was done putting the 14-month old to bed). Then, television and work.

Unfortunately, everyone in the house except me fell ill with some terrible stomach-turning-bone-aching disease that made sleep impossible and eating inconsistent at best. If you've ever seen a 4-year old boy simply lay around on the floor all day, you've seen a really sick child. At night, when I really needed to work, one of the twins, Tiny, just couldn't sleep. He would start the night in his bed, eventually move to ours, and later still wake up unable to get comfortable until he and I came downstairs to sleep on the couch and in a sleeping bag on the floor. He would only sleep half-way decently pressed up against my body, blasting smelting-pot temperature heat and breath that matched. It was a trying time because no one was getting much sleep, but my wife and I were very sympathetic, despite our sleep deprivation.

The third night of his sleeplessness, it was like he had restless leg syndrome throughout his entire, nutrient deprived body, and his poor little 4-year old mind didn't know what to do. He was up at 9:30 pm calling and moaning. I went up to soothe him, but I quickly saw how uncomfortable he was. He shifted and flopped around. He sat up and twisted and turned. He was not going to be soothed by my laying down with him. I remembered reading that if one can't sleep, one shouldn't simply lay in bed, so I asked him if he wanted to get up. He did. We came downstairs, I turned off the television and all the lights and snuggled him on the couch until he fell asleep -- a matter of minutes, if not seconds. He was exhausted.

Here was my moment of clarity. I hadn't been getting my work done. My "adult" time was infringed upon much earlier than usual in the evening, and I was really feeling the stress of my job. There was no real crisis in our house. There was no need to rush to the hospital or worry about a dangerously high fever. But seeing my son writhe around in his bed, unable to relieve his pain and discomfort or understand why he had it in his sleep-addled 4-year old mind, I knew my evening and work were unimportant. Without hesitation I effectively ended my evening and my wife's by bringing my son downstairs, to the one place he had found some comfort. And he did again.

I've never really had any doubts about the priority of my sons in my life, particularly compared to work. I didn't reflect on this decision in the moment it happened. It just happened. Afterward, now, it is comforting to know that I didn't hesitate in that moment, I didn't act selfishly, and I reminded myself what is important.

Everyone is on the mend, getting some rest and eating better. And for that I am grateful.

Creative Cooking

2010-03-02T21:46:00.009-05:00

I have small children, and if you've ever been around small children when it's time to eat, you know why parents shove chicken fingers and fries in front their children at meal times. Especially when they are in public. My twins are no different. We regularly get them chicken fingers and fries when we eat out. At home, it's a different story, my wife and I try to provide good food choices and hope that they stop asking for marshmallows in their tacos (though one son ate four tacos that way -- a record for taco eating among my boys).

Our presented food options are regularly met with screams of "I don't want that!", "There are carrots on my plate! Get them off!", and "I want O's!" There are many derivations of the tornado-siren screams, but the bottom line is nearly always: give me something familiar that has lots of sugar in it. Sometimes we can't even get the kids to come to the table, and telling them the menu can be one of the easiest ways to get them to run upstairs to hide in their room and play with wooden trains. So we often simply tell them dinner is ready and they should come see it. This approach usually at least earns a drive-by viewing with the occasional incoherent siren scream. (I must admit to finding a silver lining when the twins refuse to come to dinner -- it tends to be much quieter and calmer when I'm eating.)

Some days are better than others, but the twins typically eat fairly well. So, when I cook, the pressure is on to find something they might eat and not make my eardrums split and tumble down my Eustachian tube into my throat.

Now I don't think I'm a bad cook, but I certainly do not have nearly the culinary talent of my wife or some of my foodie friends. Maybe I have a bit of an inferiority complex when it comes to cooking, but I get to eat well whenever my wife or foodie friends cook.

So tonight we were having leftover steak and my wife wanted mashed potatoes. I can make those, and I did. Despite needing a little more salt, they turned out pretty well, but that wasn't pinnacle of my culinary work for the evening. No. As I was plating the food for the boys so it could cool, I decided to make snowman mashed potatoes. With some artistic suggestions from the culinary expect of the house, I made a food creation that caught the twins attention. One was so pleased, he squealed like, well, like himself repeatedly making the whole experiment worthwhile. In fact, both twins he a second helping, as long as it was a snowman.

I do feel I can't leave out that the most likely reason they had a second helping was the snowman hat. Still, it made our evening. And yes, they looked more like badly formed Peeps that some granola-loving-thowback-hippied mom might make than snowmen, but they boys knew what they were right away. That's what matters.

Now, what is for breakfast tomorrow?

Season Haiku #2

2010-02-22T23:53:00.006-05:00

Spring

Rain-boots in puddles
Turns toes to prunes
Hot cocoa
Turns prunes to toes

(Yes, I know one must use a very liberal definition of haiku for this to qualify. Have you ever argued with a 4-year old?)

Season Haiku #1

2010-02-21T22:16:00.003-05:00

This is the first of four poems I wrote for my twins. To be honest, I had the idea of this before I sat down to write with the boys. But they helped me hone it. The seasonal haiku that will follow Winter are, well, even less crafted. I will add, though, that the others were more fun to write. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them with my boys.

Winter

Bleached snowdrifts
Deaden familiar chimes
Of my inbox

Kiss Me

2010-02-17T23:14:00.004-05:00

A friend has goaded me into returning this blog, so here I am. He's told me I should write about parenting, so I will.

Yesterday, my wife and two of my sons woke early. I stayed in bed with the third. Later in the morning, our youngest was tired by 8 am and my wife was in the shower. So as the twins played in their room, I danced with our youngest to Sixpence None the Richer's song Kiss Me. As you might have guessed slowly fell asleep in my arms. It's a beautiful thing to have a baby sleep in one's arms. There is a connection between a child's breathing and one's own that is deeper than a rhythm or pattern. Certainly one could argue it's biological, though I don't know. What I do know is that I didn't want to put my son down and I didn't want to go to work. I wanted to stand and sway, feeling his warm little body rest against my chest, and holding his gently and firmly as he twitched, and rubbed his face on my shirt.

I eventually had to pass my son to my wife for the rest of his nap. Work was unavoidable.

Later in the day, I spoke with my wife on the phone and she told me she played Kiss Me again while holding our son and he got down from her arms and started calling and looking for me. My heart melted. And I will always have the memory of that warm, unconditional love and trust.

Update: He fell asleep to the song again on Saturday, despite our having company.

2009-10-22T00:14:00.004-04:00

Free poem

To a good home
Inquire within

What I learned about parenting from Tom Cruise

2009-05-28T12:30:00.009-04:00

I never thought I would write the words that couch-jumping, arguably misogynist Tom Cruise taught me something about parenting. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. I really learned my parenting lesson from Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr., and Tony Scott. If you aren't a movie trivia buff, you may not know that Cash and Epps wrote and Scott directed that 1980s classic movie Top Gun.

So what could I possibly learn from a movie about an arrogant military pilot what earns the nickname Maverick because he doesn't listen to advice and he insists on doing things his way? Sure, he's battling the memory of his father, but that's not what I learned.

I don't have the father issues Cruise's character, Lt. Pete Mitchell, has. In fact I'm fortunate that my father is a pretty good role model for fatherhood. What I don't have is a tremendous amount of patience. And with children, particularly small ones, patience is a must. Some might assume that the patience required involves simply waiting for small children to get in the car, settle down for bed, eat. Yes, all of those things are true and waiting in those moments does take tremendous patience for me and many other parents I've talked to. But the thing I learned from Lt. Pete Mitchell is this: Don't leave your wingman.

Patience with children, I've learned, is more than simply waiting without doing something for your child or constantly saying to hurry up. Don't leave your wingman is standing and waiting patiently while the child performs the task, and occasionally reminding the child what he or she is supposed to be doing. So instead of telling a child to go to the bathroom and waiting until he does. Don't leave your wingman. Go with the child to the bathroom and wait while he goes. Don't do anything else while he is going, either. Don't turn your back, don't wipe down the kitchen counter, don't pick up a magazine, don't chase a Soviet fighter jet. Focus on the child and wait, redirecting when necessary. It's best for the child and best for the parent. There is more learning and less yelling -- on both parts.

As an impatient multitasker, waiting has been a hard lesson to learn. But many of those moments, while waiting for a son to read a word or to solve a puzzle or to get dressed, are some of the most tender I have had with my children. With patience comes the ability to see my children as humans growing and learning. For that I thank Tom Cruise.

Resisting Theory

2009-05-11T23:33:00.002-04:00

Why is it that when students are introduced to theoretical concepts, they resist? I know that I'm writing in generality, but I find resistance much, much more frequently than I find acceptance. Why are the ideas dismissed, or why do students rail against the challenge of reading? Okay, the last half of the last question I can probably answer, but it does have me wondering. I wonder how resistant I was when I first started working with theory. Though I can remember much of my educational experience, I can't remember that. I do remember really liking my first introduction to theory as an undergraduate, but I don't recall my reaction to the readings. I remember thinking how cool it was that there was more kinds of criticism than New Criticism or Formalism. I loved learning about Deconstruction, though it was easy to see its limitations and irony.

I wonder. . .

Do you have a pet?

2009-02-22T22:26:00.005-05:00

In a recent meeting a colleague told me that during a study, doctors tried to find the best way to diagnose the general health of a patient in 10 seconds. I'll spare you the details and suspense: they asked if the patient had a pet. I'm assuming it's common knowledge that people with pets generally have better health than those who don't. Of course this is a huge generalization, but the study bore out the value of such knowledge. I have a cat, which often acts a lot like a dog. I'm okay with that because I'm really a dog person.

Before I had children I liked to joke that I liked dogs better than I liked people. That still mostly holds true. I really do love dogs for all the stereotypical reasons. But having children has complicated things a bit. I'm not sure that having children can or should be equated to having a pet, but I'm trying to get somewhere with this idea. Bear with me as I work it out.

The family recently took the twins to get their hair cut at a relatively local mall. The twins did great at the mall. They always do. They aren't ones for large crowds or strangers, so they listen pretty well. After the haircuts, we spent some time in a large play area. A very large play area. It was a Sunday and there were far more kids there than we would have liked, and a lot much taller and older than the designers of the play area intended. The older kids, ran wildly about, occasionally bumping into other kids. I stood close by to make sure my kids weren't bumped.

So if you are wondering where this is going, I'll try to get there quickly. I feel a constant tension when out with my children, or often at home for that matter. I feel joy watching the amazing things they do and I get pleasure watching their amazement when they accomplish something or learn something new. I've never felt quite that strongly with a pet's accomplishments, and that seems fairly obvious to explain. The learning and emotional experience is exponentially stronger, more complicated, and easier to interpret and understand. But, I also have tension. It's borne of a tremendous sense of protectionism. I don't want people to bump them, strangers to talk to them, or worse, touch them. I worry that the chaos of the mall will upset them, or that we stayed too long and they are too tired, or they haven't eaten enough or well enough. I worry they won't make it to the bathroom in time; I worry about how upset they will be if they don't make it. Most of these fears are unfounded, even the lavatory fears, but I still feel them. I don't have these fears with my cat. I also don't have the joy. With my children, I have them at the same time.

What does one do with these conflicting emotions? I suspect I am not unique, or even unusual. But it is vexing that children can bring such joy and tension at the same moment. And I want a dog.

Words and Nature

2009-02-02T23:26:00.003-05:00

As an English teacher, I admit to having a love of words. I am not as big a logophile as some of my friends and colleagues (here's looking at you Macy Swain). I also love nature, am an environmentalist, and I would spend most days outdoors if I could. So, I was a bit surprised when I stumbled across this on the intertubes tonight.

The Oxford Junior Dictionary has decided to remove words like dandelion, acorn, and beaver in place of words like broadband, because it seems these words are more likely to be used by youngsters (the dictionary is for children 7-9 years old). It saddens me to think that we expect children to need to know broadband before beaver.

Naturalists shouldn't feel singled out, though. Christians appear to be under attack as well. Also removed from the dictionary are the words: nun, saint, and psalm. Where is Bill O'Reilly when we need him?

I understand that dictionaries can't include everything, so someone will be unhappy with the words removed. Maybe I'm bothered by the larger implications of the relationship between nature and technology. Maybe I'm concerned that kids don't get outside enough and eat dirt to develop immunities and resistance to illness. Maybe I'm distress by the disappearance of the acorn. I've often told my students that dictionaries are poor sources of definitions for words. They are static representations of what words meant in the past, often not representing what words have come to mean, or to capture the social meanings that don't fit into the staid explanations that are used in dictionaries. If I get on a role, I bring in issues of signifiers and the signified, talking about deconstruction without always cuing the students. So, should I care what a dictionary includes or how it is included? Should I lament what has already come to pass? Should I ignore it and not worry since the tech-savvy 7-9 year olds probably use online dictionaries that allow them to find the words they want anyway?

Whatever the answers to these questions, the Oxford Junior Dictionary story caught my attention and has me wondering what the implications might be.

Bike-friendly Campus

2009-01-26T21:48:00.004-05:00

So I've tried to take my bike commuting pretty seriously. Today I rode with the temperature in the teens and it wasn't even the coldest day I've ridden this year. My campus is trying to be more pedestrian friendly as it develops its first residential life. As it put a new road right through campus, it managed to include a bike lane.

Also, the campus put in new bike racks. I wish I had a picture of the old ones. They were hilarious. They consisted of a cement block with a slit for a tire and a chain link to attach a lock. Besides the potential damage the block could do to a rim, no modern lock worth using would fit through the chain link and the location of the link would make it difficult to secure the frame. But I digress.

So they put in new bike racks. They are fairly standard "wave" style commercial bike racks. There are better ones, but they are solid and work better than a cement block with a chain link. Despite the university's goals of being more bike-friendly, it doesn't seem to have considered those of us who ride in winter. There are a few bike racks on campus, one of which is under an overhang and sheltered from snow and rain. But it isn't the one closest to my office. So on days without precipitation, I park near my office, at a rack that is exposed to the elements. Also, the groundskeepers push all of the snow out of the major walkways and right into the rack near my office.

Maybe I'm lazy and don't want to walk across campus, maybe I'm stubborn, or maybe I want to make a statement, but I still want to park near my office.

Brick Streets

2009-01-22T23:02:00.005-05:00

Today I had to get our new family addition a birth certificate, which is an interesting story in itself. I've never had to, nor have I known anyone who has had to, apply (is that the right word?) for a birth certificate for a newborn. But that is a post for a different day.

This post is about my ride from work to the County Clerk's office in the County Courthouse. For my trip, I had to ride up Saginaw Street, our Main Street. It is a brick street, which was paved over for a while, and then returned to bricks as the city tries to modernize while returning to its past glory.

So, I turned left from Kearsley Street onto Saginaw, onto the bricks. It wasn't as smooth a ride as one might want. I spent most of my time out of the saddle. The road was sloppy, but my skinny tires cut right through the slop. Despite getting nearly doored (on accident), all the drivers on the road were polite, moving to the left lane and one driver allowing my to pass a construction site in front of her.

On the ride, I had my first mechanical mishap on the winter bike. My lock slid off my rack and managed to pull the bungee course into my rear sprocket. Needless to say it stopped me. A little grease on the fingers and I was off again.

And after the ride up the bricks, my bottom was no worse for wear. Hey, if Lance can ride bricks, so can I.

01/20/09

2009-01-20T22:19:00.001-05:00

I feel lighter today.

Early Onset

2009-01-14T23:06:00.006-05:00

After the twins went to bed I went grocery shopping at Meijer. Shopping at Meijer always takes a bit of extra energy from me. It's too big and too busy and too unfriendly. I shop there, though, because, barring the Farmers Market -- where I also shop, they have the best produce and prices in town. So, given my limited budget, I shop at there.

So tonight I went and worked my way up and down the aisles, occasionally going back to previous aisles from which I forgot to find things. It was slow and I was tired. After I got to the checkout lane, waited for the women in front of me, unloaded my groceries, and watched the teller start my groceries, I reached for my wallet. It wasn't there. I checked all my pockets, but I knew it was no use. It wasn't there. Sadly, this is not the first time I've done this. It's not even the first time I've done this in 2009.

I wonder if I have early onset Alzheimer's. I forget things all the time I never used to forget. I have thought of all the typical excuses polite friends make. "Oh, you are sleep deprived because of the children." "You're just distracted." "You have too many things going on in your life right now." But I'm unwilling to accept these rationalizations. Maybe it's age, and I have what some jokingly call CRS. Maybe I don't want to be weak and think these excuses could cause my absentmindedness. Maybe I want to believe there is something significant to blame besides myself. An illness seems something outside of me, something I can blame. Maybe it's the drama queen in me that proposes this idea. But I wonder if it isn't something more than simple forgetfulness.

The story of my shopping adventure ends with kindness. The teller, Jackie, asked where I lived, and I told her. She told me I could get my wallet and then pay for the groceries. Then she rang up my items and had an employee put them in the freezer. She told me when I returned to seek her out and simply pay. It was the nicest experience I have had at Meijer.

Usufruct Redux

2009-01-04T22:53:00.003-05:00

Sometimes we can "get our eyes on" after we learn of something new. For example, if you've ever learned about a new car, and then you see the car everywhere. Or, you start paying attention to the color of a car, and you begin to see that car color everywhere.

Well, I was reading the Flint Journal today and I saw an add from the Journal promoting the paper. It was about a staff writer, Ron Fonger. In his bio at the bottom, he states that he owns "10 acres, most of which is farmed by a neighbor." Here is the definition of usufruct as I understand it. Of course there are no details about his arrangement with his neighbor, but I suspect it is a generous arrangement. Why wouldn't it be?

In a town, in a part of the country, I often assume lacks the kind of progressive ideas (or what I assume are progressive ideas), I am regularly reminded of my assumptions and stereotypes and prejudices. In Fonger's case of usufruct, it is most likely little more than a neighborly act, though again I am assuming. After all, the text is for an advertisement. But I'm going to stay with my dream, that Fonger does this as a neighborly act, and little more. Ultimately, this is more about me, my assumptions and prejudices, and as something gets pointed out to me, brought to my attention, I will see it everywhere. And in this case, I hope it's true.

Usufruct

2009-01-02T22:42:00.003-05:00

So I recently discovered the concept of usufruct in Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. As I understand it, it is an idea that dates back to the Romans in which a person can us use or benefit from another's property as long as the property isn't damaged. Pollan writes about an experience in which he took cherries that hung over a tree into a family member's yard. Pollan also describes places in his hometown, Berkeley, from which he can get fruit from publicly located trees.

Though I have traditionally been on the cautious side, my wife has readily enjoyed the benefits of the public cornucopia. One of my earliest memories of this is camping at Craig Lake in the U.P. and finding some wild blueberries. She, I, and another friend made blueberry pancakes, with the blueberries that survived our happy taste buds.

Now, the twins and I take bike rides in the fall and pick mulberries from the trees along the Flint River Trail. It makes for happy messy times. I look forward to making it a foursome when our new one is old enough.

4-year Old Reprimand

2009-01-01T21:17:00.001-05:00

Today, the first day of 2009, I was told "Don't be silly." by a 4-year old.

I'm so proud.

Happy New Year.

RIP Senator Pell

2009-01-01T21:11:00.004-05:00

Though never a recipient of a Pell grant myself, many of my friends (far more qualified for college than I was) and many of my students are/were able to attend college because of the program. In an era when higher education, and funding for it, is under attack, Pell grants are one of the few bright spots for helping those who need it.

It is a sad day for champions of greater access to higher education.

Rest in Peace Senator Pell.

Chanukah

2008-12-28T22:07:00.004-05:00

Tonight was the last night of Chanukah. I've really started enjoying it more now that we have the boys. They really love it, as most kids do. All day long they want to light the candles. Of course they also want to open presents. We don't really get them much, since they already have more than enough, but we make it fun. For the last night, I wanted to finish in style. The boys and I made apple sauce, some simply with cinnamon, and some with cranberries and cinnamon. We made enough to save for later, my first attempt to can applesauce. It went well. I made latkes. We lit the last candles, and the boys opened a present -- new flatware they desperately needed. It was a nice night.

Saturday Night

2008-12-28T00:43:00.003-05:00

It's Saturday night and I mopped the kitchen floor. I really am living the mundane life. Even sadder, though I loathe mopping or any cleaning for that matter, is that I didn't mind the evening once everyone went to bed. It was nice having time to myself in a quiet house. At one point in my life I would have longed for something to do, or longed to be somewhere else (no matter where I was or what I was doing). That isn't the case now. Just give a nice quiet evening and I'm happy, or at least mildly content.

It's a boy!

2008-12-13T23:31:00.001-05:00

We had boy #3 on Thursday at 7:57 p.m. Everyone is asleep. I should be too.

Hey. . .

2008-12-03T23:59:00.000-05:00

This site is still around. Cool.

I'm Speechless

2007-02-27T21:33:00.000-05:00

Click here.

Happy Birthday

2007-02-12T08:48:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday Charles Darwin! Your research and theory on the origin of species have given us an opportunity to marvel at the wonders of life and how we've come to be the amazing creatures we are. It's a wonderful world.

Bigotry Wins over Humanity

2007-02-02T14:01:00.000-05:00

Today the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that all public institutions must cease all same sex domestic partner benefits. You can read more about it here. I think it's a sad day because it demonstrates, even at a basic level, a value of intolerance that potentially supersedes someone's health and well-being. Would those who wanted the anti-domestic partnership amendment deny benefits in other instances, such as aging parents or widowed military-spouses with children? The kernel for that is there. Is there such importance placed on the supposed sanctity of marriage (though all one needs to do to void a marriage is go to a courthouse and sign some papers -- some sanctity), that it necessitates the denigration and discrimination of those who may be different or may now be placed in need? How low will we sink as a civilization that we can add discrimination into our state's constitution in the 21st century? I don't think we've come a long way.

Hello?

2007-01-29T23:21:00.000-05:00

I often wonder how many readers stumble onto this site or check periodically for updates. Sometimes I consider killing this blog, acknowledging it seems useless because I spend so little time posting, and when I do, it seems onanistic rather than meaningful or fun for readers. But, part of me refuses to give up on this part of my writing life. Somehow killing the blog would symbolize a willingness to admit defeat, but I am also a realist. I see a pattern of my writing habits of fits and starts. My current focus on my professional, academic writing, as well as my personal commitments makes posting here seem an additional challenge I don't need right now. In fact, I'm regularly looking at the clock as I write this, and I'm telling myself to go to bed and get some rest. The morning will come far to fast.

So thanks for listening. I guess I don't have much to tell the world. I really am living the mundane life. So it goes.

Dinner

2006-09-16T22:23:00.000-04:00

Tonight I made maple-soy, sesame encrusted salmon; curried, pinnaple rice, and baked okra (okay, I didn't make the okra).

Jennie, I'm sorry.

2006-09-16T22:20:00.000-04:00

Jennie,

I'm sorry I couldn't come to your going away party last night. I had to watch the boys much later than I had anticipated.

I'm sorry.

You Tube and Food

2006-09-02T20:37:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since my last post, but I hope to be a more frequent contributor to my own site. Since my regular visits here, it seems that You Tube has really taken off, and a recent food video I came across seemed a good time to return. Ironically, today, on the way from my in-laws', we had to stop for food ASAP. We tried a new fast food place because it had a drive-thru and we wanted to get the boys home. The place was called Culver's, home of the "butterburger." I had no idea what a butterburger was until I used the wonders of the Internet to learn it is a seared burger between a buttered, toasted bun. I'm not so interested. Well, again, it was ironic to stumble upon this video when we got home. It's got a message and beautiful food.

Drink Coffee

2006-06-13T22:45:00.000-04:00

I'm always looking for more justifications for drinking coffee. Reducing the chance of liver cancer is another one. You can read about it here. I'm not too particular about my coffee, though I do enjoy a fine cup. My preferred coffee is Ethiopian Harrar, but I'll drink burnt gas station coffee if I really want a cup and that's all around, as long as it reduces my chance of liver cancer of course.

I am an unrealist.

2006-04-21T11:35:00.000-04:00

That's my new motto.

Who Needs Oil

2006-04-11T07:39:00.000-04:00

I think those interested in energy independence and alternative energy sources should look into the new Oslo plant written about here in Reuters. If we build one of these plants near the nation's capital, we could probably power the entire world. What's the energy source you ask (as if you haven't figured it out yet)? Human sewage. Does that sound horrific? So does the millions of gallons of oil we spill into our environment sound better (and that includes all the oils and oil based products we dump down the drain, toilet, and into our gutters -- this means you)? The article even examines the inconsistent supply of the new plant's "fuel source." It gave me a chuckle.

Okay, I'll get off of my soapbox. Check out the article for an interesting way that people deal with energy and waste.

Spring is Coming

2006-04-01T21:56:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow night we turn back the clocks. This is a right of spring I don't enjoy. Losing an hour of sleep and making my mornings darker is no fun. But I'm excited to report that some of our seedlings have sprouted. This year we're limiting ourselves to growing tomatoes and peppers from seed, and we're excited to grow some cool tomatoes we've never even heard of. In fact, I can't even pronounce the name of at least one.

The clocks and seedlings are harbingers of more for me. They signal a time when I can get outside and enjoy the sun, work in the yard and play in the park. This year will be extra exciting because it's the boys first spring.

Spring is coming. I can hardly wait.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

2006-02-15T14:17:00.000-05:00

So I'm trying to get Baby A to go to sleep -- not an easy task -- and I'm singing the few songs I can remember lyrics to. Sadly, the Itsy Bitsy Spider is one of them. Besides not having many lyrics, it has hand movements that would traditionally accompany the song, but because I was rocking my son to sleep, the hand movements were absent. As I sang, I realized the story of that sad spider really reminds me of Sisyphus. And, in fact, in a sleep-deprived state, one can substitute the name Sisyphus for spider.

It's a sad state of affairs.

But as one thinks about this more than one should, the question of whether you view the spider as a Sisyphus figure or a "little engine that could" (how's that for elevating the level of discussion), really represents a world view. Which world view do I hold? I guess it depends on the day and how many times I sing Itsy Bitsy Spider in a row at 3 a.m.

Guns Don't Kill People

2006-02-14T12:44:00.000-05:00

This morning I took the time to explain to Baby A and Baby B that guns don't shoot people, people shoot people. And that someone in front of the barrel of a gun is not responsible for being shot by the gun. The person with his/her hand on the trigger is responsible.

It's a sad state of affairs to think otherwise, and an embarrassment to not admit a mistake.

A School's Responsibility to its Students

2006-02-08T19:30:00.000-05:00

I ran across this article in the LA Times that described a class-action lawsuit brought by students who failed an exit exam from high school. It caught my attention because one of my professional areas of interest is writing assessment, and I have spent ink considering exit exams and their values and drawbacks. I think there may be some value to them (though very little and value that can be achieved through less drastic measures), but I want to focus on one of the drawbacks here.

Certainly I think it is a laudable goal to set standards for student to graduate from high school. As a university teacher, I see students come to college who could have had better preparation. But all students are different, and each student matures intellectually at different times (if they mature). Read William Perry's study of college students and then read Mary Belenky et al.'s Women's Ways of Knowing.

Back to the exit exams. Here is one of my primary beefs with them: I think it is unethical to allow a student to matriculate through four years of school and not prepare them to pass a test designed for that school or district. I believe it is the job of the faculty to prepare all students, and when that doesn't happen (often the student's fault), the faculty must prevent the underachieving students from advancing. Now, I know this is a simplistic analysis. There are social ("social promotion"), cultural, political, religious (ID freaks and abstinence) and learning developmental issues to consider, but society has endowed an authority in teachers (see Foucault's Archeology of Knowledge) to determine what students should know, how they should learn it, and how well they should know it. By instituting an exam, teachers can abdicate that responsibility or they've had it wrenched from them by some of the forces listed above.

The bottom line: allowing a student to pass four years of high school and not prepare them for a test is just wrong. They should be stopped well before they get to that point -- ideally where they fall behind.

p.s. The students will win.

Dining Out

2006-02-04T21:40:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since I've had dinner out. I miss going out and trying new foods, but more than the food, I miss the social aspect of eating out with friends. Though I've enjoyed very brief outings to the UCEN on campus, eating a grilled cheese sandwich from Halo Burger just doesn't cut it.

I hear someone calling.

Baby A Rolls On

2006-01-22T23:30:00.000-05:00

Baby A, possibly jealous of his brother, rolled from his belly to his back today. My two exceptional boys.

Just Rolling Around

2006-01-21T21:03:00.000-05:00

Baby B rolled over from his back to his belly today. I thought this might be early for a baby, and Baby A has shown no interest in rolling over (he has managed to learn that he can get me to do just about anything, including sashay). It turns out the timing is about right for a baby to roll from belly to back, but from back to belly doesn't usually happen until 5 or 6 months. I don't know if this is true, but I'll just take it as gospel and say my baby is ready to go. He'll be walking by 5 months -- for better and worse.

Sagano Redux

2006-01-20T22:08:00.000-05:00

Tonight I, and some others, returned to Sagano to eat on the "sushi" side. It's quieter and we could face each other. It took a while for us to be seated, which had never really happened before. It was an omen. Service was slow all night, and I knew things were bad when our server was also the owner. Normally, she hovers around the front desk, serving as hostess and making sure everyone was happy. Tonight she was dressed in more "server" garb and seemed a bit harried. To her credit, she took our large order verbally and only made one small mistake -- the wrong salad dressing on one salad.

The restaurant was busy, a good sign, but it seemed a bit crazier than usual. The table behind us was full, at least 8 people, who were waiting to go into the steakhouse side of the restaurant. The increased traffic made the place feel busy, and the service suffered.

The sushi was delicious, as usual, but I realized how important the service was to me at Sagano. I like sushi, but I find Sagano's selection slim given I don't really eat sashimi. So, I left with a full belly, but somehow dissatisfied.

Maybe going on a Friday night wasn't the best choice, though the only time available for our group. We went at 6, a bit early for the Friday night dinner crowd. Still, it may have been the wrong day and time.

We learned (true or not) that two of the servers had to return to Japan temporarily. We didn't ask why. I know the steakhouse is new, but I hope they work out the kinks and don't lose me from both sides of the restaurant.

Sagano Brings in Entertainment

2006-01-16T19:45:00.000-05:00

On Friday I went to Sagano's new steakhouse for someone's birthday. I went with family and friends, kids included. This is no typical steakhouse like Outback or Logan's. This is the kind of steakhouse like Benehana, where a chef/performer comes and makes food on a large grill right in front of you.

The performance was wonderful. Our chef was skilled and funny. I swear he was flirting with our single, female friend who was with us. There was fantastic knifework, flames, jokes -- even food acrobatics. In fact, my brother-in-law caught two flying pieces of shrimp. Baby B was fascinated with the performance, distracted only when he decided to spit up his entire meal.

Though pricey, the entertainment was great and the food was well above average. I had steak, another in our party had filet minion, two had tuna, and three had chicken. Each part of the meal is a course. We started with rice, had noodles, and had vegetables. Then we had the main course -- my steak. All of the food was good, but I prefer to have all parts of my meal together. Otherwise I feel like I'm just eating a plate of meat. Maybe I'm a bit too bound up in Western food traditions. Sure I could have left the food sit on my plate until the meat came, but the food just wouldn't seem as appealing cold.

The atmosphere was nice, but it was loud with all of the chefs making noise at the tables. I was impressed that Baby A did as well as he did with the loud noises. He tends to startle a bit, particularly in new environments. And speaking of Baby B, he beckons me.

I'd go back, but I still prefer the sushi side of Sagano, where conversation and exceptional food reigns.

Family Trip

2005-11-29T20:55:00.000-05:00

We just returned from a family trip to Los Angeles so the boys could meet their great grandmother. She's a spry 98, and it was a joy to have her see the next generation on Thanksgiving.

We were worried at how well the babies would fly, especially since babies can't easily relieve the pressure in their ears when a plane takes off and lands. The boys did fine. In fact, they were great travelers, even putting up with a maintenance delay before the last leg of the flight.

More importantly, the family took a couple of side trips after visiting great grandma on Saturday. We foolishly tried to go to farmer's market, a place I have fond memories of from my youth. Earlier in the day, before we left the house to visit great grandma, my sister told me that the market had become a bit more commercialized. I imagined there would be more stores selling "stuff" and less food and produce. I had no idea what commercialized might mean. It was a mall. A big mall. There was a parking structure that looked to be eight stories high, if not ten. Check out the list of stores there here. It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The traffic was unbelievable. We didn't stop, but it still took over half an hour to work our way out of the mess.

We ended up in Little Tokyo eating at Hibachi BBQ Korean Kitchen. The service was great, with two middle-aged, spunky women doting on us because of the boys. I had beef BBQ and my wife had chicken BBQ, both on the suggestion of a server. We weren't disappointed. To end the experience, we walked to the local market and purchased some Pocky for my wife. The boys slept the entire time, from the moment we left the car, ate lunch, wandered through some stores, and then hit the market. It was a fine day. It was a fine weekend.

Forays into the World

2005-11-20T15:54:00.000-05:00

Our newly doubled family has made few forays into the world as we adjust to our new life, but today we ventured forth with some friends for a late breakfast. We went to Country Jim's, a homey restaurant we like because the breakfasts are pretty good, the service is adequate, and the place is pretty quiet. Not today. Aside from the food being pretty good, everything else fell apart. Most of the problems, I suspect were because the place was full. They had large parties of around 15 in the back, the section that is non-smoking and has the best windows. We sat near the front, where there was a draft and occasional wafts of smoke stinking up my clothes. (When I go to restaurants I know stink from smoke, I wear a set of clothes I don't care much about and that I'll just throw in the laundry (or burn pile) when I get home.)

Because of the crowds I attribute to some less that religious church (probably Unitarian or Episcopalian), the service was painfully slow. They ran out of coffee mugs. I have never heard of a place serving breakfast running out of coffee mugs. That's like a deli running out of meat at lunch. We eventually got our coffee. The food came slowly, both in terms of our wait for it to arrive and the number of trips the server had to make because she forgot something or something wasn't ready in the kitchen. But the food was good. I and a friend had onions added to our hash browns, and they really did a nice job with them, adding a nice flavor to a typically bland food. The eggs, over hard (I don't believe in eating runny yolks. It's disgusting.), were fine, though no on does them as well as Steady Eddy's at the Farmer's Market. Finally, my toast was toast. I don't have much to say about toast unless it's sourdough or someone messes it up. Though my coffee cup ran dry, I got enough coffee. Ultimately, because of the company, the outing was nice. I'll give Country Jim's another chance because we've had such success there in the past.

It was nice to venture back into world.

My Prolonged Absence

2005-10-30T12:26:00.000-05:00

Here's the reason for my absence of late:

Jonas Levi, 6 lbs. 11 oz., 20", born Oct. 23, 2005 at 3:15 a.m. (on right)
Micah James, 6 lbs. 5 oz., 19.5", born Oct. 23, 2005 at 3:17 a.m. (on left)

Zagat's Outtakes

2005-10-20T21:53:00.000-04:00

If you want some critiques for restaurants, here are some doozies. I stumbled across these on the Zagat's website. It's a list of outtakes that didn't make the cut for reviews. Others were found here. It was tough to pick a favorite. Many made me laugh out loud. My favorite:

"Suffers from delusions of adequacy."

Dreaming of Open Water

2005-10-18T08:56:00.000-04:00

Pez and MP3s

2005-10-16T21:45:00.000-04:00

An entrepeneur turns a Pez dispenser into an MP3 player. Now that's cool.

Check it out here.

This photo was blatantly taken from the Pez MP3 website. Thanks.

KKK on Michigan Public Television

2005-10-15T12:20:00.000-04:00

I like to think of myself as a free speech advocate, but thinking of seeing the Klan on television, public television no less, really makes me sick. I will refrain to falling back onto inappropriate language, slander, stereotypes, and other fleeting thoughts of adolescently vengeful acts against the Klan and people who would agree with them. But I will write that this confirms yet again for me how far our "enlightened" society, our "shining city on a hill" has to go before we can really raise our heads and be proud. For more information on the Klan program, read here; I must admit I didn't see it on the programming at the Midland Public Television site here, but WNEM 5 says it will be on.

Blech.

A Fasting

2005-10-13T22:11:00.000-04:00

For the past 24 hours I ate no food for Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. I feared this would be challenge. I always fear it. Despite spending over half the day with a splitting sinus headache from allergies and being unable to take medications or water, it was a relatively easy fast.

Some friends and acquaintances ask why I fast, especially since I tend to be a bit lax with other Jewish laws. I admit to doing it partly out of religious obligation, but I have also developed other reasons that may or may not be tied to the origins for the fast. As a food lover who lives in a relatively comfortable lifestyle in the first world, I never really want food. "Starving" for me really means going an hour or two longer that I would like for a meal. It means my stomach growls while I teach class. I don't take this luxury lightly, and an annual fast gives me the opportunity to contemplate how lucky I am to have food. When I use the hyperbole "There's nothing to eat in the house," with my wife, it really means I'm being unusually picky about what I want to eat. I understand that drinking filtered water to pacify my appetite so I won't eat a carton of ice cream too close to going to bed so I won't gain weight or have bad dreams seems absurd when people in our country can't get clean water and people in other countries can't get water at all. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I wake up thirsty, but I won't drink the water next to my bed because it's been there a couple of days. Again, a luxury.

So I fast. I feel weak and relatively tired. I think that a simple pill and a glass of water will make me feel better. But I resist. I suffer. And I'm glad. I feel one infinitesimal piece of the suffering others less fortunate may feel. It reminds me to be grateful for what I have. And I am.

There is more. A fast also forces me to focus on my body. I become acutely aware of where my head hurts. A the day wears on I become more aware of my blood circulating without caffeine or carps or fat. I don't have endorphins floating around from chocolate. It is just me. Maybe I'm imagining things, but I feel like there's more room for oxygen in my bloodstream. Despite the way I feel physically, I feel good.

Late in the day, my wife and I take a hike in a nearby nature center, For-Mar. My body does surprisingly well. I am glad to be in nature, even if this spot is like a zoo for trees and animals that are unfortunate enough to be trapped in suburbia. Even without food or water, I feel like I could walk for hours, but we play it on the safe side. My wife, nine months pregnant, would probably not like staying all day, though knowing For-Mar has become my synagogue, I know she would stay as long as I'd like. We walk for an hour.

We return home and shortly after sunset, my wife makes a full dinner for us. My sister-in-law brought some cake by earlier in the day, and we have that for dessert. I'm back to my other life, but I have a recent reminder, a poinient experience to remember how fortunate I am in mind and body and spirit.

Blogging on the Internet

2005-10-08T13:51:00.000-04:00

If one blogs on the Internet and no one is there to see it, does it make any pixels?

Germ Warfare on Protesters

2005-10-06T07:31:00.000-04:00

Okay, I admit it. I'm a conspiracy theorist. I love them because they explain things that are often difficult to explain. Oh, and the explanations are always interesting and exciting. That's much more fun than some kind of "anomaly" or "hallucination." So, imagine my joy and fear when I discovered this from MoxyGrrrl. MoxyGrrrl's blog entry details her friend's ordeal, including an update from the friend, about a recent protest in D.C. and how he got sick from a rare germ. The story gets creepy when you read the likelihood and how much was seemingly found in the area. Then it gets creepier when you learn that it was found in 6, count them 6, D.C. filters. What are the odds? Okay, it gets still creepier when you view the coincidence that it happened the day of a protest. What are the odds? (If you were at the protest and survived, I say you play the lottery.)

Now I'm not a regular reader of MoxyGrrrl, so I can't really comment on the blog, but it caught my attention and freaked me out a bit. I haven't totally lost my grip with reality, so I did just a little bit of investigating (clicked on one of her links), and found this. ABC News, the corporate media, carried a blurb online about the germ. I have to get back to work, so I can't dig too much further, but all the details make for a great conspiracy theory. Maybe one that's too good.

The Other White Meat

2005-10-05T08:02:00.000-04:00

I stubbled across this in one of my recent insomniatic fits. It appears our government find it fit to spend 500 grand, yes $500,000 dollaroonies to paint the side of commercial airliner to look like a fish.

I'm sure just how outraged I should be. It's only art. Art can't hurt you. Of course, it won't serve as body armor for our soldiers in Iraq and it won't provide shelter for those who lost their homes in recent hurricanes. It will promote salmon fishing and tourism in Alaska, just as the cooler season up north rolls in. I wonder how many college grants 500 grand would buy? I wonder how many full-ride scholarships to help kids out of poverty 500 grand would buy? I wonder how many roads could be paved in Flint with 500 grand?

Maybe it's better if we continue to prop up the ailing airline industry. We're overdue for another corporate welfare bailout anyway.

Verification of Comments

2005-10-02T09:45:00.000-04:00

I've added a feature to this blog that requires readers verify they are sentient beings before leaving a post. Sadly, I've been getting more spam lately and want to cut it out. Spam is easy to delete, but as many of you know, it can become time-taxing and a regular annoyance. Other bloggers have been using different approaches to solve this problem, including eliminating comments all together. I don't want to do that, or even limit comments to those registered with blogger, so I've added the verification feature.

On a related note, I get frustrated because our government vilifies spam, passes laws against it, and increasingly wants to regulate the Internet to control it. But, the government doesn't seem to care about junk mail we get via the USPS. Now, I'm not so naive to think it doesn't have to do with money. Small government advocates (who used to be republicans, but now I'm not so sure) would say we give too much money to the USPS already and that "direct mailers" helped keep the USPS afloat and the price of stamps lower. That may be true, but when viewed holistically, the time it takes to eliminate the mail so one's identity can't be stolen and the space it takes in landfills must equal, if not outweigh, the financial loss to the government. I admit this is more an armchair theory than a well-researched argument, but I wonder.

The moral of the story is: please verify you are a human when adding comments to this blog. Thanks.

Bangkok Peppers

2005-10-01T11:58:00.000-04:00

My wife and I regularly get a hankering for Thai food. Our favorite dish is the common and popular Pad Thai, but we also love a good beef salad. (If someone knows where to get an outstanding beef salad, please let us know. Our initial foray into beef salad was with a friend in Pasadena, California. We've been mildly disappointed ever since. Ryann, if you read this, please send me the name of that restaurant along with some of that amazing beef salad.) But finding the perfect beef salad is not the purpose of this post.

Last night we went to Bangkok Peppers for a light meal. We each started with a spring roll, which they do quite well with. I could make a meal of them. For a main dish, I had rard na. It was a noodle dish with a brown sauce; it was quite good, but not the "medium" hot I asked for. In fact, it was mild, but good. My wife had a beef salad and a cup of tom yum soup. That was fabulous. Their version is a soup with "lemon grass, straw mushrooms, onion, tomato, Thai herbs, lime juice, and cilantro." It is a popular soup in Thailand and should be more popular here. As you know, we only think the beef salad is adequate. If it were worse, we wouldn't order it, but if it were better we wouldn't dream of a beef salad had years ago in Pasadena.

Having eaten here a number of times, I would regularly recommend it, but we had a problem last night. The food and service was fine; it was the bill that infuriated me. I looked at the bill, which I never look too closely at, and I saw a two dollar charge. We ordered nothing for two dollars. I drew attention to the server, who said the hostess, who wrote the bill, added the charge because we were "sharing" our food. I imagine she assumed my wife's salad was considered an appetizer. The server said she would take care of it. She took the bill, returned a minute later, and said it was taken care of. The two dollar charge was removed. I looked at the bill and the final cost was a penny more than it was before the two dollar charge was scratched out. What the heck?! I totaled the bill and saw it was wrong. I brought the bill to the hostess to pay and told her I thought it was misadded. This time the bill was correct. I paid; we left.

Will we return -- probably. The choices for Thai food in our area are slim. But I will be wary if we go, and I'll never embrace it as I had before.

Bangkok Peppers is located at 1040 E. Hill Rd. in Grand Blanc. Don't confuse it with Bangkok Cafe which is located just a few blocks away. You can read my comments on the Bangkok Cafe here.

Why Do People Hate Americans?

2005-09-23T08:37:00.000-04:00

Okay, I know the title of this post could involve a long list, but I just found something Andrew Sullivan wrote that profoundly disturbed me. It appears a website is offering soldiers sexual porn for grotesque pictures from Iraq. For the same sick, inexplicable reason one looks at horrific car accidents on the highway, I was compelled to see if this was for real. After just a little searching on the sight, I found what Sullivan described. I must admit that the few pictures I saw, though graphic and disturbing were no worse than the quick clips I see on television when I don't know to change the channel or look away.

I know there is a long tradition of disgusting behavior by the military that spans history, armies, countries, and continents, but I am amazed at how disgusting humans can be in our self-defined "enlightenment." We claim people hate us because of our freedom? Maybe, I won't presume to know. But this is just wrong. And I'm sick.

Bush and the Bottle

2005-09-22T21:05:00.000-04:00

It appears the sleuths at The National Enquirer have uncovered a story most will find shocking: Bush fell off the wagon. Read about it here. See a photo of Bush with alcohol in hand here. Somehow I can't say it surprises me. If I were in that horrible job, I'd drink more than Nixon did. It's a job that is always under scrutiny, and nearly half the American population complains about what you do. Right now, Bush is being hammered for his actions, or lack of action, and I think he's getting a deserved rap. Sometimes I'm shocked that he doesn't get more heat, but I understand how hard it is for much of the country to realize the mistake they made. So, if I were Bush, I'd want a stiff drink, too. I can't say I won't be surprised if we find out he's been snorting the white stuff again, too.

Drinking would also explain much of Bush's erratic behavior, too. He often seems disoriented, at a loss for words (worse than normal), and trying to talk to people who are even there (for more information, see this). Then there is a story from the New York Times showing Bush's desperate attempts to link 9/11 and Katrina; Bush's non sequitors are frightening. Read them here. His handlers better be careful or we'll see him with the DTs.

Pirates! Run!

2005-09-19T12:25:00.000-04:00

Arrrr! I can't believe I didn't remember that today is Talk Like a Pirate Day. For more information on the day, click here. I encourage everyone to talk like a pirate today. It's important that we support the heratige of the pirate. Of course, this is the heritage of the mythic English/American pirate glorified or villified in movies, not the pirates who currently terrorize the Asian and African coasts.

Make Johnny Depp proud.

Language Matters

2005-09-13T08:36:00.000-04:00

Here's yet another reason why one should be careful about language:

For more information on this photo, click here, or copy and paste this address into your browser address bar: http://www.snopes.com/photos/katrina/disaster.asp

Block Party

2005-09-11T22:20:00.000-04:00

Today my wife and I went to a block party one away from ours. Interestingly, we have many friends on that block, but none really on our own. Fortunately we were invited to the party because, well, we're friends with many on the block. I'd never been to a block party before; we arrived too late for one on the same block two years ago. This was a nice event. It was an excuse to visit with neighbors we regularly see and others we only say hello to when we walk the neighborhood.

So why an entry here? It seems to fit into my vision of the mythic American family life. A block party where people eat three kinds of turkey (roasted, smoked, and deep-fried), potato salad, and dishes and dishes of desserts. We sat in chairs around tables in the street. Kids played around the adults like satellites. The tree-lined street provided shade, while all of the women asked my wife about our coming twins. I feel like I've seen this on an after-school special or on an episode of Little House on the Prairie.

I've often railed against nostalgia for a time that never existed, but there are kernels of truth in that nostalgia.

We were only there a couple of hours. The party was only a few. It was perfect. After we returned home, I felt like we had traveled to a different time, but then I realized this was just the right time.

Pudu Pudu?

2005-09-08T09:02:00.000-04:00

As I battle a splitting sinus headache, and I try to be productive, I have stumbled across the endangered Pudu Pudu. The creature, which I discovered at this site, is cute as a button and looks like the perfect food for a komodo dragon, though in the wrong part of the world. Sure the Pudu Pudu may be an elaborate hoax, like the jackelope, but I don't think so. If I had more time I'd do more research. I know our dog Bailey (G-d rest his cute, pouty-faced soul) would have loved one as a playmate almost as much as a fainting goat.

Babies?

2005-09-03T11:36:00.000-04:00

This won't come as a surprise to most readers of TML, but I'm going to become the father of twins soon. The babies are due October 22, but there is a good chance they will be born this month. Over the summer, instead of updating this blog, I was busy "nesting" by helping my wife and by preparing the house for our new family members. Part of that preparation, and part I take particular pride in, has been building cribs for them. Many TML readers who have known about my project have wanted to see my work, so here are a couple of pictures. Enjoy.

Bangkok Cafe

2005-06-30T06:43:00.000-04:00

Last night some friends and I went to the Bangkok Cafe at 6004 Torrey Rd. and had a fine meal. The restaurant is small, only about 8-10 tables, and it's located in a small strip-mall. It has standard strip-mall decor, simple decorations and tables that vaguely hint at something Eastern. Tolerably comfortable chairs, but really the kind of place that reminds me of a graft, like the movie The Sting, in which an entire place can be transformed into an office in moments with no hint of its past.

My friends and I arrived for an early dinner and the place was empty, but by the time we left there were 3 other tables with people. Oddly, I think there was only one person working in the restaurant, in the front and back. The man was pleasant enough and somewhat attentive. I was never left wanting anything.

I couldn't resist ordering the standard Pad Thai. I know it isn't necessarily the best Thai food, or the most interesting, but I just love it. I can imagine someone opening a Thai restaurant and dedicating an entire kitchen section for the production of Pad Thai because so many patrons order it. I did. And guess what? It was great. In fact it was so good my friends were shocked I ate my entire dinner so fast. (I told them if they spent so much time gossiping that they didn't get a chance to eat.) Another friend ordered the Pad Prik, and that was very good as well. And though he ordered his medium spicy, like I did, his wasn't nearly as hot. Still, it was very good.

I'd go back, but not for the atmosphere. It would just be for the food. I recommend it to you as well.

Mad Cow is Coming, Mad Cow is Coming!

2005-06-10T07:12:00.000-04:00

Okay, maybe the sky isn't falling, but I stumbled across this article on the problems with US beef and why we are at risk of an outbreak of mad cow disease. In fact, the blog links to story of someone in Japan who caught it (here). It's only a matter of time until the US has a legitimate outbreak with current beef feeding practices, or the government will continue to hide the beef industry's dirty, repulsive secret of feeding blood and sinew of dead cattle to other cattle.

Now go fire up that grill and plop on some burgers. . . or some portabellas.

Flower

2005-05-27T08:22:00.000-04:00

Just a picture I took in the garden yesterday.

John's "Family" Pizzeria

2005-05-27T07:57:00.000-04:00

Some friends and I went to a new Italian restaurant last night in search of better pizza. I had stumbled upon John's while driving down Davison Road for an appointment and decided it might be worth a try. It was.

One might question whether the "Family" in quotes in the name was for the mob or more a family-style restaurant. It's definitely the latter. This restaurant is well-lit, has very homey decorations, including lighted plastic grapes (a nice touch) and odd, painted portraits. We were sure it wasn't a mob front when we saw they didn't have a liquor license and they carried chocolate milk. I hoped to see a mob boss or cappo, but all I saw were locals who walked to the restaurant from the neighborhood. I also noticed none of them ordered pizza, what we had gone to the restaurant for, and was a bit disconcerted. But the menu had many items I'd like to try, including "Baked Italian Favorites" like ravioli and vegetable lasagna. I really like baked pasta.

We sat in a large booth and often waited longer than I would have liked for service, but the server was nice. We ordered two large pizza and a appetizer combo plate. It came with the usual assortment of frozen snacks like onion rings, zucchini, mushrooms, and cheese. It was adequate; how can you screw up fried food? The pizzas, one with pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, and yellow peppers and the other with pineapple, green peppers, and ham, were decent. Nothing stood out as great except the crust, which was thin and very crisp. We loved that but collectively decided we preferred Luigi's toppings better.

We considered dessert but opted to go back to our friends' house and have ice cream and conversation.

I would be happy to go there again and try some of the other things on the menu, but I don't know if I will seek the place out.

Recommendation: Maybe, but it didn't set my heart aflutter.

World Expo of Beer in Frankenmuth, MI

2005-05-23T11:20:00.000-04:00

Okay, first let me state I'm not a big fan of Frankenmuth because it's primarily a tourist destination and home to the largest Christmas complex in the world. Why the Christian god decided to shine down on a small town in mid-Michigan, I don't know, but he did. And now we have Bronner's.

But more to the point of this post. My wife, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law all went to Frankenmuth to partake in the 10th Annual World Expo of Beers. Frankenmuth has large tents set up with 32 different beer booths. Brewers ranged from the juggernauts of Coors and Anhueser Busch to microbrewers like Dragonmead Microbrewery and Frankenmuth Brewery.

I avoided the larger brewers and focused on the small (and German). Overall I was pleased. A $1 ticket bought a 4 oz. sample, and the brewers were generous with the pour (occasionally forgetting to take my ticket). They even had a few booths with food and souvenirs.

We stayed nearly 2 hours at the Expo. We didn't stay for the music, and we sadly missed Beer School. But we had seen what we wanted and tasted what we wanted, so we decided to venture into the main strip of Frankenmuth to act like the tourists we were.

On the strip, we wandered into shops and enjoyed a perfectly warm sunny day. We ate at the Bavarian Inn Restaurant and had their "famous" chicken dinner. It's really good fried chicken and it comes with lots of other goodies, like stuffing (good tasting -- soggy texture), mashed potatoes (good --how can you screw those up?), and three "salads" that included a bean salad, pasta salad, and some kind of cranberry-orange relish-type salad (very good and refreshing). The meal is finished with a small bowl of ice-cream.

As tourists we had a good time sampling candy and cheeses. If you haven't been to Frankenmuth, it's worth a visit just to see what it's like. If you can time it during one of Frankenmuth's festivals it's even better. I don't recommend going any time near Christmas (Nov. 1 - Jan. 15) when things seem a bit crazier there. I still have never been to the enormous Bronner's CHRISTmas complex, so I can't recommend it either. But if you like fried chicken and have some good friends to go with, it's worth a trip every few years.

As a last note, we stopped at my wife's grandmother's house for visit and got a homemade strawberry-rhubarb pie. They are amazing. My favorite pie after having hers. Sorry, you'll have to get your grandmother to make it. I'm not sharing.

Frist Filibuster

2005-04-29T07:50:00.000-04:00

Check out Princeton University's Filibuster of Senator Frist. You can watch it live here. It's already been going on for nearly 70 hours. I think it's great, not only because I think changing the senate rules for something I disagree with would be terrible, but I think it's great that students are taking an active, creative role in politics.

If more students and young people became more active in politics, the future of America would be better represented in government. It wouldn't just be rich, special interests (read large corporations) that really should have no say in government that had an influence.

My two cents for the morning.

The Lunch Studio

2005-04-25T21:29:00.000-04:00

Despite having a stuffy nose, and thus an inability to taste, I went with friends to The Lunch Studio today for, what else, lunch. I've been skeptical of The Lunch Studio since it took over two hours to get served Sunday brunch. It wasn't so much that it took 2 hours(that just happened to some friends and I at the French Laundry in Fenton, but I'll get over it), it's that the service is so idiosyncratic and prolonged that the experience, well, was not really worth a return visit.

Let me digress. They don't have a coffee pot. When you want a refill, the server, when she materializes from the ether, takes your cup, fills it from an unknown source, and returns it. One cup at a time. I don't think she even took one cup in each hand. I recall she did it one cup at a time. Thank goodness I wasn't fourth or fifth in line for a cup.

The food had a similar pattern. One person at a time, and sometimes it was one plate at a time. So your eggs could be cold, or eaten, before your bagel arrived. The food once it arrived was fairly good, but not nirvana.

But that was brunch. Today we had lunch, and the assurance from my friend the service was better for lunch. And it was. I had a grilled cheese with tomato and a cup of blended roasted pepper and corn soup. Both were good; I would recommend them. The service again was a bit odd. It was prompt (a plus), but we received our soup before our sandwiches. One friend, who was only having soup, had his with ours, so while two of us ate sandwiches, he could only watch (I was never good at sharing). Now most restaurants I've eaten at serve "soup and sandwich" together. It's obviously a service choice, but what I think is an odd one.

The food was good, the service fine (despite the oddities), and the company exquisite. I'm sure I'll return because I believe is supporting businesses in downtown Flint and it has a fairly good menu with healthy and vegetarian options (read -- not Coney).

If your around town and have some time, consider stopping in, but be prepared for quirky service.

Spring Showers?

2005-04-24T09:23:00.000-04:00

It's still snowing.

Illegal Executions

2005-04-15T09:13:00.000-04:00

As many of my friends know, I am adamantly against the death penalty. Despite research that shows the death penalty does not deter crime and costs more than incarcerating a prisoner for life, and despite the seemingly clear idea that killing someone does not fit into the "culture of life" (read Pope not Prez on this one), states still insist on murdering those who perpetrate heinous crimes (and one former governor mocked those condemned).

I'm still not sure how the state murdering someone does not violate the 8th Amendment, but maybe I'm slow. I know how Texas is trying to get around the "unusual" part of the amendment: kill as many as they can and then it won't be unusual (According to the BBC story Texas and Virginia account for 45% of executions in the US. I don't doubt it.). The cruel part, though, has come into question from a recent BBC report. It seems victims of state-sponsored murder may have been "aware" during their execution. It's a good thing guards use a paralyzing agent so victims can't move, scream, or provide any other clue to their suffering other than some apparent muscle thatches.

It seems that victims may not have gotten enough of the drug sodium thiopental, an anethetic that supposedly numbs them before they are given pancuronium bromide, which paralyzes them before they are given potassium chloride, which kills them. It seems the drugs were administered by untrained staff, and they do not know how much dosage to administer.

Okay, now explain to me how this isn't cruel?

What Would Hemingway Say?

2005-04-13T07:28:00.000-04:00

Did you know Wisconsin is considering cat hunting? Yes, those cute little furry creatures who like to snuggle up to you while you're on the couch or trying to work at the computer. They're only following the model set by South Dakota and Minnesota. Oh, hunters would only be allowed to kill feral cats, or any domesticated cat that isn't under the control of its owner. Well, I know all of the cats in my neighborhood are always under the control of their owners when they're outside.

This is important because according to a state [Wisconson I assume] study, feral cats kills 47 million to 139 million song birds a year. With highly accurate and specific studies like these, I can see the immediate need.

I'm interested to think about how cunning a hunter must be to stalk another predator. Would we need to cat-bait with cans of tuna fish? Would we use decoys, like stuffed Tiggers or Hello Kitty? I can see it now. We can have Hello Kitty crying for help from the evil clutches of Scooby Doo! Surely some cat would come to her rescue.

I think Michigan should jump on the bandwagon before it's the last state in the Midwest to allow cat hunting. I can only imagine the tourist revenue that will be lost because we're behind the times. Come on Lansing, get with the program. Hunting Mourning Doves is so last year. Now it's cats!

[Update: Apparently the governor of Wisconsin killed the cat-hunting bill. Read more here.]

Michigan State Women's Basketball

2005-04-06T08:11:00.000-04:00

I was sorry to see the Michigan State women lose in the championship game (especially to a team from Texas). They had a great season.

I also didn't hear about any rioting in East Lansing. Hmmm. Interesting.

Go State!

2005-04-04T10:39:00.000-04:00

Well it appears Michigan State showed its true colors again. Win or lose, State fans like to cause trouble. I'm not sure why they don't care if they are sprayed with pepper spray or gagged with tear gas. Somehow neither of those options appeals to me. Now, if a cop in full riot gear (this is worthy of analysis, too, but maybe in a different post) reads a message asking me to disperse after a sporting event or risk suffering bodily harm and arrest, I'm going to leave or go back into the bar.

Clearly having half the police force of southern Michigan in riot gear standing in the street lends itself to another potential Kent State, but losing a sports event isn't worth it. If you think it is, get a life. There are far more worthy things for college students to protest. (For example, the Michigan government going back on its promise to not cut higher ed. money if higher ed. doesn't raise tuition beyond the rate of inflation. Granholm looks to be doing it for the second year in a row. Now that is worth protesting.)

I wonder if MSU fans will riot after the MSU women play in the championship game. Then again, I wonder if most fans there even know the women are in the championship game.

Go State! You make us proud.

Eating in Adrian

2005-04-03T10:46:00.000-04:00

On Friday I attended a conference in Adrian, and I had to eat breakfast before I arrived. I stopped at the first small restaurant I saw, the Main Stop Restaurant, because it had a sign that it was voted the best restaurant in Adrian. I later learned it won the best breakfast in Adrian four years in a row (1999-2002).

I sat at the counter, something I used to love to do, but seldom do now because I don’t typically eat out alone any more. The place is small, with fewer than a dozen tables and only 6-8 counter seats. It was busy, but not bustling when I arrived around 8. The staff were all middle-aged women or older, except for the young, female dishwasher. I was quickly served my coffee and water, and the server seemed surprised I knew exactly what I wanted. Eggs over hard (The surgeon general has determined that eating raw eggs can make you ill because they carry nasty and disgusting diseases like salmonella. Besides that, eating nearly raw egg yolks is disgusting in itself and just wrong.), home fries, and wheat toast. It’s my favorite breakfast when done well, and it’s a benchmark I use for new restaurants.

The breakfast came quickly was inconsistent. The eggs and toast were quite good (How do you mess up toast?), but the home fries, thinly sliced potatoes, were soft and relatively tasteless. The servers were friendly, and when I asked for more coffee and water, they brought it promptly. The problem was I had to ask. I don’t think a patron should have to ask for more coffee in a breakfast joint. Coffee should flow freely.

I was ultimately pleased with my experience, and I would return, but I think my small complaints could have been the reason the Main Stop hasn’t won best breakfast honors since 2002.

If you’re ever in Adrian and looking for breakfast that doesn't come wrapped in wax paper and the question, “Would you like fries with that,” I would recommend the Main Stop Restaurant. It’s located at 1003 N. Main Street. It may not be the “best” breakfast in town any more, but you won’t leave disappointed.

ECWCA Conference

2005-04-01T11:23:00.000-05:00

I’m at the East Central Writing Center Association conference at Siena Heights University in Adrian Michigan. I’ve already seen two interesting presentations, and I’m in a third now (don’t tell the presenter).

The first was on research agendas for writing centers, presented by Kurt Kearcher from California University of Pennsylvania. He talked about his center’s project, Writing Center Artifact Research Project (WCARP) and how centers can develop their own research agendas to help professionalize the work done in the center.

The second was on an online writing center module developed at Michigan State U., presented by David Sheridan and Michael McLeod. It was interesting to see how MSU is pushing the envelope of what writing centers can do with technology, moving beyond a simple electronic, presentational resource or a place for online consultancy. The module hinted at rudimentary computer modules that have been condemned philosophically because they are simply glitzy version of worksheets, but the module is clearly far more sophisticated. And, far more importantly, it enables students to work through their own ideas, working on their own writing – it isn’t disconnected from the student’s own work.

Right now I’m in a session on blogging. There is some kind of irony here. The presenter has spent a lot of time explaining blogs, and now she is interested in our ideas and opinions to help her shape her research.

I better pay attention. More to come.

Heaven and Hell Refuse Jerry Falwell

2005-03-31T16:18:00.000-05:00

Jerry Falwell nearly died from viral pneumonia, an illness resulting from a seemingly potential AIDS complication. He was in critical condition, and I believe very near dead, for the second time this year. Read about it at CNN.com. It appears, though, heaven refused to take him because of his incendiary language that violates the tenets of his own religion and G-d. His intolerance and inability to love his neighbor nearly as much as he loves himself has resulted in him receiving a heavenly Heisman rejection.

An additional twist is the refusal of hell to take Falwell because he is seen as a threat to the current power structure there. The result of the rejections has left Falwell in a state of limbo on earth and a stabilized condition in the hospital.

Developing story . . .

Do We Have a First Amendment?

2005-03-29T22:33:00.000-05:00

The Daily Kos has a story, and links to one from the AP, in which American citizens were removed from a town-hall meeting to tout Bush's plan to eliminate Social Security. Many stories about came out about people removed from Bush's campaign stops during the last presidential election, but this is different.

Given that these are taxpayer-funded events, they should be open to all taxpayers who obtain tickets appropriately. (The people removed from this event received tickets from their congressional representative.) The events have become publicly funded private events. By controlling who can participate, the administration silencing those they disagree with, or more likely fear.

Controlling information is a key to controlling people. It's worked through history, and it appears to be working in the US.

Joseph Goebbels would be proud.

Timeless

2005-03-29T13:16:00.000-05:00

"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." -- Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

Los Panchos

2005-03-25T13:10:00.000-05:00

The wife, some friends, and I ate at a relatively new Mexican restaurant in town last night. Los Panchos is conveniently located across the street from the popular pizza/Italian restaurant, Luigi's, on Davison road near Franklin (Yes, the Davison and Franklin where the shell of a restaurant named Angelo's stands, but that is a story for another entry.)

What I first liked about Los Panchos when I entered was how strikingly similar the atmosphere was to many Mexican restaurants I'd eaten at in Baja. It is relatively sparse, with few decorations. The tables and chairs are similar to Coney fair; they look like they could just be hosed down at the end of the night and left to dry, but they weren't uncomfortable.

The service was friendly and the menu was adequate. They don't have the extensive menu that El Potrero has, but they do serve beer. A full bar will open in a room next door soon, so I imagine they will have a full compliment of liquor. My friends had a combination plate, their son had a taco, and my wife had a tostada place. I had an amazing plate of wet tamales to wash down my Negra Modelo.

The plate had three tamales, all thin, but longer than the mini-tamales one finds at many other Mexican restaurants and Tippy's. They weren't as massive as the tamales I remember eating while growing up, but there was enough to eat. (I still managed to eat part of my wife's dinner.)

What might have pleased all of us most was the beans and rice. They weren't the most amazing I've ever had, but given that I have yet to find good beans and rice in the Midwest, I was ecstatic.

I've learned that this Los Panchos is actually the second one opened by the owner, Frank Molina. The first Los Panchos is located on Fenton Road. The Davison Road Los Panchos will also sport a Mexican Bakery. I assume they won't call it a pandaria because no one would know what it is, but I hope their bread is as good as the bread I ate as a child from local pandarias in Ensenada.

I look forward to the bar and bakery, and I can't wait to go back to Los Panchos. If you're interested in going, they're address is 2209 Davison Road in Flint, and their phone number is 233-8226. If you go, tell me what you ate and what you think.

Sick Food

2005-03-20T08:10:00.000-05:00

I was reading the news online and stumbled across the news of an "execution" (or state-sanctioned murder). Coming from a Southern, fairly christian state, the news of an execution didn't suprise me, but what caught my attention was that the news included the victim's last meal.

The news often covers the last meal and it manages to show up in movies in which someone is being put to death, and I wondered why food (and a final visit or not from a padre) was so interesting to our culture. What is so attractive about knowing what a condemned man or woman's last meal is? I thought it could be that it is representative of the person. What they choose to eat could tell us much about the victim. It could be that it represents one of the few choices a death row inmate gets to make in the final 20 years of his/her life. Why are we so interested in what the walking dead want to eat?

A quick and brief Internet search turned up a website that didn't surprise me, but bothers me. It's deadmaneating.com. Just as you might guess, it provides information about the last meals of victims of state-sanctioned murders. You can even buy products from it on cafepress.com. As I'm writing this, I am thinking, "How generous! Those states that kill people are nice enough to feed their victims anything they want just before they die."

Now as someone interested in food, I think it would be interesting to look at the food choices victims make from a sociological view. I can't imagine myself ordering a pizza from Domino's as a last meal (unless I was trying to commit suicide), but I can imagine asking for comfort foods. Maybe Domino's is comfort food for someone. But what if the CEO of corrupt major corporations were on death row (more worth worthy candidates than 15 year old boys and the mentally incapacitated)? I doubt they would order pizza, but how would I know.

It might be an interesting culinary journey to eat the same food as the condemned, but somehow I don't think it would be the same.

Procrastinating

2005-03-15T10:24:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in a while, and I thought I should at least let the larger world know that I haven't fallen off the turnip truck. Yes, I'm still here and busier than ever. Over the break, I (with the help of dear friends) painted our living room. Painting is a task I hate. Now I use the word often, but I really do mean hate here. To be more specific about what I hate about painting, I hate prep work and trim. Rolling is easy. You just dip a roller in a pan of paint, slather it on a bit space, and hope it runs into smooth or interesting patterns. Prep and trim takes attention and detail work. No real slathering is allowed if you want things to come out okay. The paint job came out okay. But there will be no close inspection of the walls or trim allowed!

On a completely different note, we dogsat some friends' dog over the break as well. She is well-behaved and a general pleasure to have around (Except for the occasionally annoying way she wants you to pet her and doesn't want you to pet her at the same time. I saw this in our Boxer, Bailey, and was frustrated when he did it too.). Well, what we most appreciated about having her around was the calming affect she had on our dog Kisha. We didn't really notice it until we were back to one dog and Kisha returned to the habits we had happily forgotten she did since Bailey passed away. She whines more, follows us around the house more closely (which is excessively annoying when you consider how big she is and slowly and poorly she moves). She has a way of blocking a passage that can only be rivaled by a herd of stubborn yaks standing on a mountain pass. Is another dog in the picture? I don't think so at this point, but I told my friends I'd love to dogsit anytime they need a break.

Okay, enough procrastinating. I have work to do and I'm sure you do too. Why else would you be reading this blog?

Sponge Monkeys

2005-03-03T07:44:00.000-05:00

After some serious research on an important topic to my field of rhetoric and writing, I have found a source for the Quiznos Subs creatures that sing that amazing song We Love the Subs. It turns out they are called Sponge Monkeys, creations Joel Veitech and located at rathergood.com. You can reach them directly here singing the original composition We Like the Moon. It truly is a work of art.

p.s. I have to thank my pop-culture diva friend who told me of the Sponge Monkey's humble origins. Thanks.

I Want a Cool Dog

2005-02-23T09:29:00.000-05:00

I noticed last night that the web is slowly replacing television for me. While my wife read a book and watched American Idol in the background, I focused on finding useless things to read on the Internet. I'm not sure which is worse, channel surfing on TV or the Internet. They both stink.

But at The Food Section, I was pleased to learn about the Cool Dog, a melding of two of my favorite foods: the hot dog and ice cream. When I learned of it, I excitedly began anticipating summer and the chance to try one of these delicacies, but when I reviewed the Cool Dog website, I learned they aren't selling them yet in Michigan. Apparently it's difficult to penetrate the grocery market and compete with the big guns like Nestle's Drumstick or the Choco Taco.

I've considered selling myself as a retailer to have some shipped to me, but I'm not sure we have the freezer space for a pallet of ice cream hot dogs. I'm also not sure what my wife would think. The New York Times wrote a story about the Cool Dog, too. Note the Cool Dog is 14% butterfat. I'm all about the fat. If you're interested, ask your grocer to carry them and maybe we can all enjoy them at a picnic by the lake.

Steady Eddy's Cafe and Stepping in the Same River Twice

2005-02-21T08:40:00.000-05:00

My wife and I ate at Steady Eddy's Cafe in the Flint Farmer's Market on Saturday morning. Even after a late Friday night, I had a hankering for a sandwich we tried the last time we were there: The Four Star Veggie Club. It is "a double-decker layered with Monterey Jack and American cheese, hummous, avocado,tomatoes, shredded carrots, cucumbers, onions, sprouts and mayo on your choice of toasted bread." It's not the kind of sandwich I would usually order, but I gave it a shot and then woke up Saturday morning craving one.

There are two pieces that might help express my desire. First, if you arrive at Steady Eddy's later than 9, you usually end up waiting at least half an hour in a hallway lined with chairs and people cackling too loudly for a Saturday morning. When I woke up, I knew we wouldn't get to the Market before 9:30. Second, I wanted one bad enough to wake my wife (a great lover of sleep) and ask her to go with me. We went.

The stars were aligned for us because there was no waiting; there were even empty tables near us. We ordered our Veggie Clubs (and I ordered a side of potatoes to make sure I got my necessary carb count for the day). Mine was very good, and my wife was disappointed she forgot to ask for hers toasted. [I have been corrected. She did ask for it toasted. I was engrossed in the Flint Journal while she was ordering. My bad.] I know I will order it again, but probably not for breakfast. I am a great lover of breakfast. It's my favorite meal. And when done well, I like the traditional coffee, eggs, potatoes, and toast best.

But I remember how shockingly good the Club was the first time I had it. It was a cold day and we were eating breakfast with friends. I was feeling a bit adventurous and decided to try and sandwich for breakfast. It was amazing. The tastes melded together and were meticulously encapsulated between crispy pieces of toast. I remember laughing a lot that morning and going home satiated.

Heraclitus said one can never step into the same river twice, and I often feel like the example constantly proving him right. I love the river of Steady Eddy's Cafe and the Four Star Veggie Club. Knowing me, I will dream of that morning with friends, eating that sandwich and drinking coffee. I know I will eat it again and I will enjoy it. But I also know that the chances of every having that Club taste that good again is slim. The moment of discovery, that pleasant surpass of something new and wonderful, cannot be replicated.

Search for Perfect Mac and Cheese

2005-02-16T10:40:00.000-05:00

I have begun the search for the perfect recipe for Mac and Cheese. Yes, people have recommended Kraft, but that's the kids version of a traditional comfort food. I'd like something more complex, bold, and less sickeningly sweet. Of course the perfect recipe has to be a mix between fabulously flavorful, beautiful to look at, and easy to make.

It seems like the task is simple, but as my wife and I embark on our journey to find that recipe, it seems to be more elusive that I thought. The first recipe I'll post here comes from a recent episode of America's Test Kitchen, a show I like to think of as comfort television. Only Julia Child and Norm Abrams provide more comfort when I'm lying on the couch trying to avoid life's difficulties. I'm a big fan of the Test Kitchen and their recipies, so we tried this one first. Here it is with my assessment below:

CLASSIC MACARONI AND CHEESE
It's crucial to cook the pasta until tender-that is, just past the al dente stage. Whole, low-fat, and skim milk all work well in this recipe. The recipe may be halved and baked in an 8-inch square, broiler-safe baking dish. If desired, offer celery salt or hot sauce (such as Tabasco) for sprinkling at the table.

Serves 6 to 8 as a main course or 10 to 12 as a side dish

bread crumb topping
6 slices (about 6 ounces) good-quality white sandwich bread, torn into rough pieces
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces pasta and cheese1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt

1 pound elbow macaroni
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons powdered mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
5 cups milk (see note)
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (2 cups)
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups)

1. FOR THE BREAD CRUMBS: Pulse the bread and butter in a food processor until the crumbs are no larger than 1/8 inch, ten to fifteen 1-second pulses. Set aside.

2. FOR THE PASTA AND CHEESE: Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the broiler. Bring 4 quarts water to a rolling boil in a stockpot. Add 1 tablespoon of the salt and the macaroni and stir to separate the noodles. Cook until tender, drain, and set aside.

3. In the now-empty stockpot, heat the butter over medium-high heat until foaming. Add the flour, mustard, cayenne (if using), and remaining 1 teaspoon salt and whisk well to combine. Continue whisking until the mixture becomes fragrant and deepens in color, about 1 minute. Whisking constantly, gradually add the milk; bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly (the mixture must reach a full boil to fully thicken), then reduce the heat to medium and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened to the consistency of heavy cream, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the cheeses until fully melted. Add the pasta and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is steaming and heated through, about 6 minutes.

4. Transfer the mixture to a broiler-safe 13 by 9-inch baking dish and sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Broil until deep golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Cool 5 minutes, then serve.

VARIATION MACARONI AND CHEESE WITH PEAS AND HAM

Cut 8 ounces baked deli ham, sliced 1/4 inch thick, into 1-inch squares. Follow the recipe for Classic Macaroni and Cheese, adding the chopped ham and 1 cup frozen peas to the cheese sauce along with the pasta. Proceed as directed

You can view the recipe at America's Test Kitchen.

We generally liked the recipe, and I'd happily make it again, but I did have a few things I would like to rework.

1) I'm not sure I let the milk-cheese mixture thicken enough. I went past their time recommendation, but it still seemed a bit too thin. Of course I'm partially to blame for not waiting longer because I was really hungry and tired of wisking.

2) I'd like it to have more zip. I could add more pepper, but I think I would start with more cayenne. Not letting the mixture thicken more could have had an impact, but I can't imagine that much. The Tabasco on the table is a good suggestion, too.

3) We didn't try the ham variation, but we did add peas. We liked that, and it is fairly traditional.

I'm open to recommendations. Send me your recipe. I'll be posting more later as we continue to eat our way through the mac and cheese world.

Tia Helita's has the Chips

2005-02-12T21:17:00.000-05:00

Friday night we went to dinner at Tia Helita's with my sister- and brother-in-law. The dinner was inconsistent; I had the taco dinner, shells medium crispy. I prefer them that way because they have some crunch, but don't fall apart as soon as you sprinkle hot sauce on them.

The side of beans must have been left under the heatlamp to be classified as "refried." I just called them "redried." The rice was unfortunately typical of Mexican rice in Flint; dry and flavorless. I've stopped hoping for good beans and rice in Flint. I haven't developed a good theory as to why no one can make it, but that isn't why I usually go out to Mexican restaurants.

The tacos were fairly good. The shells were crunchy, yet didn't break. The tomato wasn't bad given the season, and the meat was well-seasoned without being overpowering. I added salsa and was quite happy as I ate.

Tia Helita's is located at 4070 South Saginaw St.

What I really like about Tia Helita's, though, is the chips an salsa. They make their own chips and the salsa has zip and a great texture. It isn't picante sauce, but it's thicker than the watered-down salsa restaurants like Chili's serves. But the chips: wow. They must put some kind of chips-and-salsa-crack on the chips because I can't stop eating them when we go. It makes the mediocre food and bad service (which was atypical) worth the trip.

I don't know the history of Tia Helita's, but I've been told it's a Flint institution. what I do know is that I'll be there whenever I'm jonesing for some chips and salsa.

I Hate Bill O'Reilly, too.

2005-02-11T09:53:00.000-05:00

I’m not a bit fan of Bill O’Reilly. I must admit I don’t get to see very often. Actually, I almost never get to watch him on television because I only get basic cable television, so I am denied the pleasure of watching Fox “news” programs. But O’Reilly does manage to make the larger news networks regularly for his inflammatory commentary. Most recently, I heard about his attacks on Ward Churchill, the University of Colorado professor who is receiving the national spotlight for his views (both unpopular and nonsensical) on the 9/11 attacks. Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick wrote a nice piece about the controversy you can read here. I think she calls his comments "moronic nonsense."

More to the point of this post, I found a great website dedicated to exposing the spin of Bill “no spin” O’Reilly: Sweet Jesus, I hate Bill O’Reilly, Intl. It’s a fun site (though a bit crass at times). They show that if O’Reilly really does have “no spin”, it’s because he’s already spun himself sick, puking up lies, inflammatory propaganda, and biscotti, and he’s broken away from the earth’s rotation into his own orbital reality (not unlike certain government officials who admit to making their own reality – read Ron Suskind's piece in the NY Times here). Of course O'Reilly is too busy yelling at people to hear anything they might say to rebut him. I think it's important that we hold people accountable for what they say, and it's a part of the job for pundits and journalists (to use the terms extremely loosely for O'Reilly) to be held accountable for what they say. Just as. . .say. . .O'Reilly wants Churchill to be accountable for his words. I don't disagree that Churchill should be accountable; I just don't' think he shouldn't be fired for voicing unpopular views. I don't know. I seem to hold some stake in that thing called the First Amendment. Call me crazy. I think there are other, more appropriate ways to hold Churchill accountable without shattering the foundation of academic freedom.

But, hey, that’s just one academic’s opinion.

My Peeps

2005-02-03T19:28:00.000-05:00

Tonight, in a fit of procrastination, I stumbled upon a science website that provided valuable information about Marshmallow Peeps. I will never think of them in quite the same way. Most interesting to me was the Medical Miracle, but I also found the Risk Analysis fascinating.

There is also a link to a literature review, so I look forward to reading more when the need to procrastinate takes me.

The Olive Garden

2005-01-30T19:53:00.000-05:00

Last weekend my wife and I met some friends at the Olive Garden. I try not to eat at any restaurant on Miller Road in Flint Township because nearly all restaurants are chains that taste the same. Unfortunately, some of our friends seem to prefer those restaurants. Personally, I can't tell the difference between the food, service and atmosphere at Chili's and the food, service and atmosphere at Outback Steakhouse, but it might just be me.

So we met our friends at the Olive Garden, but I wasn't very hungry. I ordered soup and salad. The salad and breadsticks are two of the best parts of the Olive Garden. The salad was good, but primarily because it had pepperocinis. The breadsticks (which I used to love before I came to love food) were fine, but when I caught myself trying to soak up salad dressing with every bite of bread I realized I only used to love them because they were warm and soft, not because they are particularly good.

The minestrone soup prompted this entry to The Mundane Life. It was tasteless. It looked and tasted like a reddish broth with a can of mixed beans dumped in. I'm not sure it was even salted. The bad part was that it wasn't even bad; it was just tasteless. For me, I guess it represents restaurants like the Olive Garden that are the sit-down versions of McDonald's. The food is never good, but you know if you walk into a Olive Garden in Flint, Michigan or an Olive Garden in Ontario, California you'll get the same food, service, and atmosphere.

In the end, the visit with our friends was great, and I guess eating there can just serve as a reminder of the kinds of restaurants I really love.

Quiznos Subs

2005-01-26T07:47:00.000-05:00

Okay, I like to think of myself as mildly media savvy and not likely to be swayed much by advertising, but this commercial compelled me to eat at Quiznos. It's too bad they pulled it so quickly from television. Fortunately, Slate.com linked to it, so now I can watch it any time I want. And you can to here. I think you'll need Windows Media Player. Enjoy.

p.s. The sandwich was fairly good for a chain restaurant.

A Blog for Everyone

2005-01-19T20:39:00.000-05:00

I know there is a blog for everyone, but that still doesn't stop me from being surprised when I stumble across one like like Shaving Stuff.com. Who knew?

I wish I knew about this site when I was shopping for my electric razor. I'm happy with the one I have, a Panasonic wet/dry razor, but when it comes to purchases like this one, I'm a compulsive researcher. The more it costs, the more I research.

I dread the day I buy a new car.

It's Cold Outside

2005-01-17T15:39:00.000-05:00

It's cold outside. The last time I checked Weather.com, it said the temp was 11 degrees and with the wind chill it was -4. I would check our thermometer, but it got so cold it came into the house to warm up. Now I like to think I'm relatively tolerant of the cold, especially for a transplant from Southern California, but even I think this is a bit much. It looks like our Doberman, Kisha, will be spending the day on the couch because I'm not taking her out in this for both of our sakes. She doesn't seem to bothered by this, but I'm sure if I have a moment of insanity, she will gladly get off of the couch and venture around the block.

Though I'm very happy living here, I wonder how people decided to setting in such a relatively formidable place, especially before the modern comforts of natural gas heating, cable television, and pizza delivery. I know it's beautiful the other three seasons, but somehow I feel those all get crammed into six months. But maybe the fall is worth it (it's my favorite season). Maybe I shouldn't think about it in temporal terms. Maybe my experiencing of fall is worth the cold months that follow. Maybe the excitement of spring is worth it (despite relapses into winter). Maybe sitting on our back deck late into a warm night in July makes it worth it. But right now, I'm just wondering when our temperature gauge will register in the positive and go back outside.

Oatmeal Cookie and Brownie Recipes

2005-01-11T20:12:00.000-05:00

I found this recipe on Kosher Bachelor, a blog I just found. Who would have thought of a blog about kosher food? Well, the Kosher Bachelor found a great recipe that you need to read, but make sure you allow yourself time. It may take a while.

Without taking too much fun out of this recipe, I want to add that as a writing teacher I find it an amazing piece of writing and wonder about audience, context, and how such a document develops.

Though I have much more I'd like to say, let me end by adding that I've never seen a recipe that says anything about insect parts.

Check it out:
Cookie and Brownie Recipe

Update on Effy's Obit

2005-01-03T21:33:00.000-05:00

Tonight I went to the synagogue to cook a meal for Effy's family with the other kitchen volunteers. I learned that The Flint Journal didn't print the entire obituary by mistake. Here is a link to the full obituary notice. I'm amazing she ice skated into her late 80s. She is an inspiration. Here is the link: mlive.com - Life Story