It all turns to dust | Day 7 of 365 days of stories

September 15, 2010

Desert Dunes, Dubai

I stare at this ceaseless, rushing crowd and imagine a time a hundred years from now. In a hundred years everybody here—me included—will have disappeared from the face of the earth and turned into ashes or dust. A weird thought, but everything in front of me starts to seem unreal, like a gust of wind could blow it all away.

– Kafka Tamura, Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

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Alice’s Conundrum | Day 2 of 365 days of stories

August 22, 2010

Alice's Conundrum
Alice’s Conundrum

Meandering through Heian’s gardens I stumbled upon this sign and stood, staring, awaiting the Cheshire cat to appear.

‘Cheshire Puss,’ she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know
whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider.
‘Come, it’s pleased so far,’ thought Alice, and she went on. ‘Would you
tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’

‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat.

‘I don’t much care where–‘ said Alice.

‘Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.

‘–so long as I get SOMEWHERE,’ Alice added as an explanation.

‘Oh, you’re sure to do that,’ said the Cat, ‘if you only walk long
enough.’

Alas, no Cheshire cat, so I chose a path…

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Back – again – for real

August 17, 2010

Buddha, Golden Gate Park
Buddha, Golden Gate Park, 2010

You’ve heard that before, many times, if you’re still out there. I’ve finally gotten around to fixing the look of the blog, and the rest of the site should follow in its footsteps shortly, along with getting my Gallery fixed and ZenCart running (if you have no idea what that means, it just means this site won’t be broke as shit for much longer).

We just got back from a fabulous trip to Japan that was much needed. There will be stories and pictures to come, but the pic above is a prelude to that visit, from a summer afternoon spent in San Francisco.

Not only was the trip relaxing, but between the trip and since being back, I’ve been able to delve into 4 books in the past week or two. Ahhhhh – it’s such a relaxing way to spend your time. One of the books, Kafka on the Shore, also warrants a separate post soon. It was an amazing book that really spoke to me for some reason. Another book, Outliers, which Raju was actually reading, had a chapter that gave me some insight into my innate mean-streak and the reason I get all fired up and ready to fight. It may warrant a mini post as well.

Night-night, ttfn, ’til tomorrow!

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Food, Inc.

April 21, 2010

Food Inc movie poster

So tonight, the hubby is out. I decided to sit down, have a bottle of wine, and unwind. Checking the Netflix queue I settled upon Food, Inc. to watch, probably because of a quiz on YumSugar today about the same movie.

I was perusing the CB2 catalog, and half-watching this movie, while sipping my wine. Afterall, I’ve read Fast Food Nation and In Defense of Food. Not to mention Fat Land and The End of Overeating. I’ve watched my great-grandparents grow their own food, and I’ve started doing that on my own (yet to harvest, but SOON! at least on the broccoli rabe and Asian greens).

Slowly, I began paying more attention. First it was the chicks on a conveyor belt. Do you know how adorable chicks are? Those cute yellow birds that slide down the waterslide at the state fair? Imagine them on a conveyor belt, being stamped on the forehead. (more…)

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Buon giorno!

September 25, 2009

It’s Friday, and I think I just blew some snot into my caffè. Gross. Oh well, I guess that will just give it a slightly salty flavor.

I’m readying myself for another weekend with a long to-do list, which I’m sure I won’t get through. In fact, most of the to-do’s are left over from last week. This morning, I’m looking through the many photos from Italy, again, trying to determine what I want to put on the wall above the dining table. I’m thinking the warm tones in most of those photos would work in the room. I have a photo on the wall now, but it’s not working for me. Too dark.

The photo above is from Firenze. I like the mixture of fresh fruit and overly processed junk food offered. You don’t often see that in America, so you don’t feel so bad if you reach for the Haribo and Sprite, because tasty-fresh apples and oranges aren’t available at the local gas station.

I’ve been reading a new book, The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David Kessler, which isn’t really a self-help book like you would think from the title, but actually an insightful look into how the food corporations make the food we crave and why we crave it. There’s lots of talk of testing on lab rat testing, fat, sugar, and salt (To the point, sometimes, where I do not want to hear those 3 words again. I get it!!! already.), and reward. The one thing that really disturbs me is the talk of the food companies trying to make food that melts in your mouth. The food is described as almost pre-chewed and reconstituted just so it takes a few less chomps to make it melt in your mouth and disappear, thus taking the work out of it for you. Really? I’m so lazy that I can’t chew 10 more times before swallowing? Maybe not lazy, but apparently this is something people react positively to in their food. Come to think of it, those Lay’s potato chips do melt nicely in my mouth. Speaking of Lay’s (don’t they have the slogan “bet you can’t eat just one”?), another theme that pops out in this book is the fact that the food companies want you addicted to their food. Anything less than addicted just won’t do. Seriously.

So while I’ll never give up my M&Ms and Ruffles with French Onion dip, admonish those who, *gasp*, eat American cheese, or become one of those people who notes the calories of the Chili Cheese Coney with tater tots and an Ocean Water trying to make myself or others feel guilty about what is being enjoyed in the moment, this book is reinforcing my need for home-cooked meals, restaurants that I trust not to feed me frozen, pre-cooked food that can be picked up at my local Safeway in the freezer section, “shopping the perimeter” of the grocery store, or better yet, shopping the Farmer’s Market, and just in general enjoying some yummy food. Food, not reconstituted, addictive, melt-in-your-mouth, chemically-laden, overly preserved… un-food? Not sure what you call it at that point. Filler?

Hmm, I have went from “I need a picture” to soapbox in one post this morning. I guess I’m making up for my lack of posts this week.

Til next time… Ciao! (yes, I’m trying to learn Italian, too)

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