22 setiembre 2008

el crudo y lo cocido

against my better judgement, i have been persuaded (coerced) into eating only raw food for a week. granted, the lasagna and apple pie were damn good, but i know i am going to regret this. don't worry, i PROMISE this will not turn permanent. i will never try to convince you that you should try it. i will never chant "cooked food is poison." but i think there are some important things that will be made clear by doing this.

first, i'm convinced that the more thought that goes into food, the better. in making it harder for myself to eat whatever happens to be around, i will hopefully be paying more attention to where my food is coming from, what's in season, which nutrients i'm actually getting...not to say that one must eat raw food to pay attention to such things. but it also cuts way down on packaging and energy used to cook (though i'm still keeping fresh things cold in the fridge).

second, i think this will be a study in the kind of time, dedication, and resources such a lifestyle would entail. many diets, even vegetarian ones, are only available to those in privileged positions. soaking things takes a lot of time. raw nuts and some of the other specialty type items important to raw food are hard to find, and food processors, dehydrators, and juicers are expensive. basically, to pull this off, you'd have to be an affluent, leisure-endowed, childless person with some pretty swell kitchen appliances.

anyway, i might end up giving up after a few days, but i thought it would be an interesting experience to write about. dissertation seminar ordered pizza tonight and had some leftovers, which ee and i scavenged. so broccoli pizza (though cold) will be my last cooked meal for a week. here goes the experiment.....

18 setiembre 2008

revistas

i generally despise the magazine industry. i have a lot of good friends that work in publishing, and i even spent a brief stint and nyrb, but in the end, all these publications do is promote conspicuous consumption and remedial reading levels.

ok, maybe i'm being too harsh. i am currently sitting next to a stack of 2 national geographics from the 1970s and and 9 issues of harper's which i claimed from the free book pile today. i do read magazines, but generally think the world would not be a worse place if they didn't exist.

generally.

unfortunately, i learned today that bitch magazine will likely fold, and soon, if a grand old sum of money does not fall into their hands. and i've got to say, i actually do think the world would be a little worse of a place is bitch ceases to exist. i'm not an avid reader. i've probably only bought 3 or 4 issues. but i think in a world of cosmos and vogues, magazines like bitch, and even jane circa 2003 (and i'm not just mentioning jane because they so kindly put my picture in their and gave me a free pair of roller skates) give young--and not so young--women an alternative view of aspirations. kind of like when mattel came out with the less drastically waist lined barbie or something.

basically, what i mean to say is: as long as we've got this screwed up magazine industry, its been nice having a few options which are not quite as evil as the rest. though it seems like those days are numbered.

09 setiembre 2008

politics of motherhood

I admit to being hypocritical about a number of things. I think this happens because I'm pretty stubborn, and once in a while two things on which i refuse to change my opinion come in to conflict. For example, I consider myself "open minded." However, upon being faced with the prospect of dating someone i thought was quite nice and smart but with who i profoundly disagreed about politics (particularly a certain brand of reaganomics), i ended things. when told i was being closed minded about the situation, i said, "you're right. and i accept that."

However, one issue I still struggle with is cesareans. In 2006 31.1% of US births were via cesarean, compared to 5.5% in 1970 and 2002 (most recently available) rates for France and Holland (two of the countries with lowest infant mortality) were respectively 16% and 14%. The WHO recommends that a rate of 10-15% is advisable. There's been much research determining the adverse affects of unnecessary cesarean sections, and I tend to readily advocate "natural birth" over cesarean. In fact, I'd say that I tend to think slightly less of mothers that give birth via cesarean, even when deemed "necessary" by doctors. Somehow I believe these women should be more assertive, argue with their doctors, stand up for their "rights," and demand natural childbirth. And somewhere in my biased mind I believe that those who don't want a natural birth are just ill informed or lazy.

But I'm trying. Because I also believe that a central part of reproductive justice is giving people the right to choose to reproduce or not, in whatever way they feel most comfortable. People--meaning the citizens, not some state institution--should have choice and autonomy in their sexual and reproductive decision. This means they should be able to choose any form of partem they see most fit. And if they happen to think that cesarean section is the most advisable or preferable way to do things, I should support them.

Well, much to do has been made over Sarah Palin's womb, children, and one particular child's womb lately. And while I don't think Bristol's fetus has anything to do with her mother's ability or lack thereof to govern, NAPW President Lynn Paltrow has pointed out some of Palin's own inconsistencies on the subject of autonomous reproductive choices in an open letter to the Alaska Governor. I highly recommend clicking on that link and reading for yourself, but for those of you too busy/lazy here is the point in brief: Paltrow points out inconsistencies in Palin's stances on abortion and forced cesarean in the context of the birth of her fifth child, with whom she waited over 11 hours after her water broke to enter a hospital. Paltrow respects Palin's ability to evaluate risk and make her own decisions. She simply asks that Palin extend such respect over choices to other women. I clearly can't do the letter justice. I guess that's why Paltrow is president of a national organization, and I'm just a lowly Ph.D. student...


08 setiembre 2008

mantequilla

i don't know about the peanut butter...



and it looks a bit like a "mule with tits"

but i'm definitely going to try this at home

04 setiembre 2008

presidentes

i've been trying to refrain from too much politics here, most likely due to my cynicism. but i couldn't help but post the this link to writing about female vice presidents in latin america. its funny how we think of the u.s. as so far removed (& beyond) our Southern neighbors, while they make political moves that we can only hope for. i wonder how long it will be before we have an indigenous president.

not to say that latin america should be seen as a role model for fair or equitable electoral politics, but i also think its important to not get too far ahead of ourselves thinking a non-white or non-male on a major ticket is anything revolutionary.