A Fresh Look

Last week, my wife and I rented and watched the film Food, Inc. and found it to be very eye-opening.  It made us look at how we buy food, take stock of what we are doing right, and look at what we could do better.  It also made us want to make sure we were switching to grass-fed beef and other meats - which we had started to do - and look for different ways to buy more locally grown food.  Luckily our friends the Chicago Gardner and the Nature Nerd are always there to help us out.

One thing both of them did was point us to the movie Fresh which is being viewed at different screenings over the nation. (In fact, we went to the screening with them, Five Crows and her husband, and another friend of ours.)  The screening happened to be very near to our place of work (one could say it was on the campus...even though technically it was not).  Just like Food, Inc., Fresh was a look into the industrialization of our food supply.  Fresh, however, spent a little more time focusing on the alternatives to this corporate mentality to raising livestock and growing food.  It also builds a very compelling argument that medium-sized local farms is the way to go when trying to "feed the world." As with Food, Inc., I want to give some impressions I had of the movie and some facts that were given.

• I found it interesting that they stated 3 new jobs would be created for every one that was lost if we started to deindustrialize our food supply.
• One acre of Polyface Farms (run by my new hero Joel Salatin) makes $3,000.  One acre of his neighbor's livestock ranch makes $150....hmmmmm....(and Saladin doesn't need to buy seed or anything)
• I loved Saladin's comments on being stewards of the land and embracing the rolls the animals perform in the wild.  Feed an herbivore grass...what a novel concept! ^*
• The specialization of farms is leading to more virulent diseases.  They are becoming more resistant to antibiotics and the like...yet the natural farmers do not have as many disease problems.
• I loved the Growing Power organization that is found north of me in Milwaukee, WI.  More people should know of such programs.
• There is a lot more hope felt in this film.  You see multiple people starting to try and turn against the industrialized food supply.
• I loved the fact they had local farmers and CSA opportunities at the screening.  Good job with that!
• The industrialized food supply system is non-sustainable...naturally....hence all the antibiotics, herbicides, and the like.
• I liked how they stated there is no such thing as cheap food.  You either pay for it up front with money, or through taxes and health problems.  I know some people would scoff at this last statement, but I have not eaten at what one would traditionally call a fast food restaurant since August.  In that time, I have lost almost 25 pounds...and the taste of the food is so much better.
  

I liked this film at least as much as Food, Inc..  I really liked the way it showed the alternatives and showed how they are working...right now.  My wife and I are going out to our local farmer's market tomorrow.  Hope you get a chance to go out to yours when it happens...you won't regret it.

^{* Please note the sarcasm in this statement...}

Superstitious?

It is a good thing I am not superstitious.  I had a couple of things would have sent me over the edge today if I was. :)

First, I was typing up my weekly newsletter to my students' parents last night when I noticed something interesting.  I'm in my 13th year of education, it is the 13th issue of the newsletter I am sending home this year, and I am sending it home on Friday the 13th.  That's right...a 13 - 13 - 13...

Second, on my way to school today, a huge turkey vulture flew up from the road about five feet in front of me.  Some people may think having a huge black bird fly up in front of you is not a good omen...I actually thought it was pretty cool.  I have only ever seen the "V" shape of the bird gliding in the sky, so this up close look (even though it was brief) was really nice.

I find it very interesting the hold Friday the 13th has on some people.  It is not as if Paraskevidekatriaphobia has been around since the dawn of man.  It is often stated that it comes from October 13th, 1307 when the Knights Templar were arrested in France.  Others say that it did not even come to be until the 20th century.

I always find these type of things interesting...especially when you find some cultures find the number 13 to be a lucky number.  Who knows?

Pictures Not Needed

Yesterday was a ponderous day for me.

While that really should mean it was a slow moving day, it wasn't.  It was a day that made me think hard and reflect on several diverse things.  I was glad I watched Food, Inc. because it meant I could have another day to process my thoughts before I wrote about my visit to the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center.

A few entries ago, a lamented the fact I did not bring a camera with me to take pictures of the animals I was able to see during a walk in the forest preserve by my house - that is not always the case.  There are some times in life one does not need a camera, because the images is something that is burned into your mind forever.  Anything to do with the holocaust is like that for me.

My wife is a teacher of the German language, so we visit the country often with her students.  On one of the trips, we went on a trip to Buchenwald.  There are two lasting impressions I had from that trip.  The first was the all-pervasive silence that hung over the place.  It was eerily silent - almost as if nature itself was in perpetual mourning for the atrocities that took place there. The second was the reaction of the students to the place.  For the most part, the students were able to last about 20 minutes before tehy felt the overwhelming need to go outside of the camp and sit - it was all too overwhelming.

I write about that experience to give a little context about what my experience has been with dealing with the subject of the Holocaust - so that when I let you know the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Educational Center is a moving experience, I do not say so lightly.

The main exhibit of the museum does a very thorough job of giving the history of Hitler's rise to power and how the Jewish people (and other minorities) were increasingly robbed of their civil rights.  The narrative continues through the enactment of Hitler's final solution, the Allied victory, liberation, and the forming of Israel.  There are several artifacts scattered throughout the exhibit, as well as video of survivor's memories of what was happening at different points in the history narrative.  I think this record of first-hand accounts is one of the most important things.

The exhibit ends with a film showing some of the atrocities that are taking place today.  It was a very important link to let people know that atrocities like this did not just happen in the past.  The docent made a very clear point during the course of the tour that there is no such thing as a by-stander.  True neutrality is something that cannot be obtained.  If you are neutral during such events-you are simply enabling the atrocities to continue.

Also with this tour, a survivor came in and talked to our group about her story.  It was very moving...she lost a whole lot during the course of her life, but she was so thankful to be in the United States now.  There are also several different galleries of art.  Some we were able to visit, others we did not have time to.

As something like this always does - it made me think.  It made me think about what we as Americans - or just citizens of Planet Earth - treat with indifference and allow to continue - when it should not.  Starvation in all places of the world, homelessness, genocide in places like Darfur, the fleecing of different families because they cannot afford health care...the list can go on and on.  If we continue to treat in with ambivalence, what will happen?

I will end my post with a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  He was a member of the German Resistance and a theologian.  In one of his writings he said:

"First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me."

I think that is something we all need to remember.

Eye-Opening Movie

I really need to start this post by thanking both the Chicago Gardner and the Nature Nerd for cluing me in to this movie.  Having literally just finished watching it, I can say it has changed the way I am going to look at and shop for food from now on.

One thing my wife and I have had a lot of discussions about lately is America's disconnect from the land.  A lot of Americans do not know and do not care where their food comes from - as long as it is cheap and readily available.  It is this dispassionate attitude toward food that leads to the system that is laid before us in Food, Inc.  It is also this ambivalence that makes such a movie necessary.

The movie is an investigative look into where our food comes from and how industrialized it has become.  It looks into the way animals are raised and slaughtered for consumption.  It also does the same thing for key cash crops like corn and soy beans.  Along the way we run into corrupt politics, greedy corporate heads, victims of the industry, and a few heroes.

Here are some of my impressions from this movie:

• Joel Salatin, the head of Polyface farms, is now my hero.  He was so well spoken and made several astute comments on how the people and corporation that treat their animals like a number will end up treating people and other cultures the same way.  I think all we need to do is look at our world today to see how true this is.  He also has a wonderful way of embracing the natural tendencies of his animals to run his farm in a very efficient, yet healthy manner.
  
• If cows are made to eat grass...why do we feed them corn?
• I've always liked Stonyfield Yogurt...now I like them even more... 
• The big corporations in this film treat their employees like their product...not very well.
• I'd say what I am going to do with my meat purchases now...but I could be sued - evidently...isn't there an amendment about that?
• If we want to have a solution for food safety...it would be better to get someone outside the food industry to be the head of the FDA or USDA...
• When money and politics comes before the safety of a people...there is something patently wrong with that.  Oh wait...isn't that happening with the health bill now, too? (more of a rant on this later)
• Chipotle will be getting more of my business....
• So will the local Farmer's Market
• I'm glad the grocery stores in this area are starting to show where their produce comes from.
  

I know I have only given a little bit of a snap-shot of what this movie is about...but that is on purpose.  It is one of those few movies I would say everyone should go out and see.  In fact, even though I rented it from my local Blockbuster, soon it will take a place beside other documentaries such as 6 Degrees which have opened my eyes a little more and spurred me on to a little more change.

Rock Cut State Park

Two weekends ago, my wife and I went out to Rockford, Illinois to help my in-laws with some different things around their house.  I ended up creating a dry-well for one of their underground drainage pipes to drain into.  It was not as hard as I thought it would be, because after digging a hole about four feet deep, I hit sand.  That was a wonderful surprise considering the fact that if I was going to do the same thing in my yard, I would have hit clay at about two feet deep.  I also moved some gravel and added it to different places.

While I was doing that, my wife went to a local orchard there and came back with a good six bags of apples (which later turned into several quarts of very tasty apple sauce).  When both she and I were done with our different activities, we were able to go to Rock Cut State Park and observe how fall was hitting the state just about and hour and a half west of us.  (Interestingly enough, they are in a different zone than we are for growing plants).  There were a lot of cool things that I saw there...here are some of them:

This is a fungi of some sort we saw at the beginning of the walk.  Perhaps the Nature Nerd, Chicago Gardener, or someone else will know what type of fungi this is.  It reminds me of that egg-shaped building in London.

The Rockford area was definitely further along in the autumn season than where we live was.  There were a lot more leaves on the ground than in the forest preserve by our house.  That being said, there were several trees like this one.  The colors of certain trees (usually maples it seems) have been amazing this year. 

I loved the shape of this tree.

It was really a day to see different types of fungi.  I think this is another version of the one pictured above.  Maybe after it has started to open, but I could be wrong.










There were shelf fungi all over the place.

Finally, to find this was quite a surprise to me.  I didn't expect to see flowers and berries on a tree.  They were really beautiful.  If anyone knows what type of berries these are...

All in all, it was a nice walk.  We saw a few other things, such as a mass of what looked like milkweed bugs all over a rusted railing.  We also found a path that was supposed to be a bridge turned into a ford of sorts.  If I had had my boots, we would have gone across.  Maybe next time.  Rock Cut State Park has a lot more to explore.

Quick Update (or Do My Eyes Deceive Me?)

I have seen a couple of things nature-wise I did not think I would see here in Illinois over the last few days.  The first was a black squirrel.  Well...it wasn't really black - but more of a very, very dark gray.  I have seen black squirrels in Michigan - and this was very close.  Once again...no camera.

I also saw a big hairy dog-like thing as I drove between the entrance to our local forest preserve and a bog across the street.  It happened at night and it was the glow of the eyes that grabbed my attention.  At first, I was thinking it was a coyote, but it seemed to be too big for that.  I suppose it could have been someone's dog on the prowel, but it seemed a little too shaggy and feral for that.  I know there have been lone wolves down in our area before...makes me wonder.

The last week has been miserable temperature-wise.  It has been at least 10 to 12 degrees cooler than it should be all that time.  It is much better today with sunshine and light jacket temperatures.

Time Flies...

For those people that know me, they probably have only a vague inkling of how important/influencial music is in my life.  To say I have an ecletic taste in music may be an understatement.  I like music ranging from classical guitar to symphonic metal.  The only types of music I do not give much of a chance are country and rap...and actually I probably give country less of a chance than rap - there have been a couple of rap tracks that I have liked.

All of that being said, my favorite genre of music is progressive rock/metal.  I love the complexity of the music.  I love the 20 minute epic songs and the weird time signatures.  I think what I love about it the most is every time I listen to a piece of music in this genre,. I end up hearing something I did not hear in earlier listenings.  Mind you, this is more true for some bands than others.  For example, one of my favorite concept albums is Brave by Marillion.  I have had that album in my possession since 1994, and I still hear new things when I listen to it.  That may not be as true for something like Arena...even though I really dig a lot of their tracks.

Porcupine Tree is one of those bands that creates music I hear something new every time I listen.  They have changed over the years...morphing from a more trance-like musical style to a more driving rock style - and I have loved being on the journey with them.  On September 22, I had the opportunity to see them for the third time since moving up to the Chicago area.  On a side note, I love the fact I can catch these bands because I am near the big city.  I had really thought hard about going to the show.  It was the only one in the area, but it was on a Tuesday.  As a rule, I usually do not go out to something like this on school days...since I have to teach the next day.  The one thing that finally put me over the top was that Kings X was going to open up the concert for them.  Kings X is one of the older bands I love to listen to...they just have songs that get stuck in your head.

I am glad I took the time to go.

The show was at the Vic Theater.  I had never been there before.  Usually my bands end up playing at Park West.  It was a neat old theater with the box seats, balcony, and everything.  Luckily, the floor was a standing room only type of place.  I was able to get within five feet of the stage with no problem.

As I stated before, Kings X opened for Porcupine Tree.  The played some of the older songs I love like Lost in Germany, Dogman, and Over My Head.  They ended with the latter - and it was wonderful when he had the whole crowd singing the chorus at the end.  I also was able to see my first 12-string bass in this portion of the concert.  I am assuming it was the regular four strings strung at different octaves...but don't quote me on that.

There was a bit of time while they tore down Kings X and set up for Porcupine Tree.  The Tree did not disappoint.  The whole first half of the concert was a playing of The Incident in its entirety.  This may not seem like much, but when you realize The Incident is a 55 minute song...

I don't think I've seen so many guitar changes in one part of a concert.

While I like the whole song...the part I like the most is "Time Flies."  Very smart lyrics are throughout the whole song.

The band took a ten minute break and then came back to play some old and new songs.  I didn't think there would be any way they would play "Anethesize," my favorite song from their last album - Fear of a Blank Planet.  Most of this opinion was based on the fact that the song is about 17 minutes long.  They did not play all of it...but they played a good portion of it...and the crowd went wild.  They also played "Remember Me Lover" for the first time live.  There was one encore.

All in all, and amazing experience.  I'm glad I made the decision to go against what I would usually do.  I would have missed one of the best concerts I have ever been to.