last one for a while
Oct. 18th, 2008 10:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
furyofvissarionThe Taste of Sweet: Our Complicated Love Affair with Our Favorite Treats - Joanne Chen. Chen loves sweets. Loves, loves, loves them--& she doesn't discriminate between high-falutin' gourmet desserts & a Snickers bar. In fact, part of what I liked most about this book was her exploration of the classism involved in how we view sweets. For example, the New York Times, in the span of a few months, did an article on how junk food contributes to the obesity of inner-city poor kids, & another on Dylan's Candy Bar, a frou-frou Upper East Side candy store (started by Ralph Lauren's daughter) that has become the go-to place for privileged kids. So... candy if poor children of color eat it is bad, but if rich white kids eat it, suddenly sugar is a fun status symbol.
Another section I found interesting dealt with the science of taste—how does an artificial strawberry flavor get created? It seems, discouragingly, that Americans generally don't want the taste of an actual strawberry; they want their nostalgic taste memory of what a strawberry is like, & when presented w/the real thing, they sometimes find it lacking, as Chen does (“The truth is, the flavor of strawberries, blueberries, oatmeal, and many other foods is in reality difficult to accept.” Really? To whom, exactly? Because that is sure as hell not a supportable blanket statement).
She also goes to the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, to see children growing up & learning to find vegetables appealing; she finds something in it, but she's not totally convinced. She also meets a scientist experimenting w/lightly sugaring vegetables to get people (not just kids) to eat them, which I find a little appalling.
Connecting many of the book's ideas together is the issue of how we view food, & eating, particularly sweets, & how this connects to weight. She cites a depressing study in which people in Belgium, France, Japan, & the US were asked to do word-association exercises about food. When presented with a list of words from which to choose the one best paired with ice cream, Americans chose “fattening,” while the French chose “delicious.” Chocolate cake? American women selected “guilt,” while French women chose “celebration.” Heavy cream? “Unhealthy” to Americans; merely “whipped” to the French. Anyway, lots & lots of fodder for discussion in this book.
One thing that irked me is that Chen's author photo seems designed to say, “Hey, I love sweets, but I'm still thin!”--she is shown from the hips up in a sleeveless dress, hands on hips. No head shot here—we might think she's fat, I guess. :P
Where the Blind Horse Sings: Love and Healing at an Animal Sanctuary - Kathy Stevens. This is a beautiful little book by the founder of Catskill Animal Sanctuary, which cares for abused farm animals. Stevens doesn't have to work hard to come up w/tales of interest about the residents—who may at first seem to be truly remarkable in their personalities, intelligence, & heart. But Stevens has a good point—it is easier to think of the animals she talks about as unique, rather than consider that they may not be that unusual among nonhuman animals, & yet we can't acknowledge this, because we raise them in egregious conditions solely to slaughter them (I would add that many people who would swear to the intelligence & personality of, say, their dogs, happily eat dead pig, even though pigs are comparable in intelligence to dogs).
I am deeply impressed w/all the work put into the sanctuary, & how committed Stevens & her staff & volunteers are. The book's an easy, fast read, & I think anyone who doesn't tear up at least once might have, shall we say, issues. I wish this book got the audience it deserved.
Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships - Tristan Taormino. Great, comprehensive handbook; Taormino distinguishes between polyamory (multiple emotional relationships) & what she calls partnered non-monogamy (swinging & other situations in which there are other sexual, but not emotional, relationships); refreshingly, she doesn't elevate one (poly) above the other. In fact, she doesn't diss monogamy either, & is v. sure to emphasize that it's whatever works for people. She divides up the world of open relationships further into subcategories & has concrete suggestions, questions, & areas of potential concern for each. Really v. well done.
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity - David Allen. Allen's organization system makes a lot of sense; it's based around the idea that everything we have to do should be written down, because having undone things in our brain causes perpetual stress, & that everything has to be broken down into next actions, & lists of these next actions placed where you can act on them (for example, if you are stuck in an airport waiting for a late flight, you should have a “Calls” list w/you to work your way down).
I can see why GTD, as the system is known, is so popular. I am v. interested in starting the process myself, once I move & settle down. Like any organizational system, I think it will pose challenges for people w/mental illness, during bad patches, but the point is that you set up the system so that it will take the least energy to run & maintain, thus making in easier, in theory, to keep up w/stuff even when you are not at your best.
Another section I found interesting dealt with the science of taste—how does an artificial strawberry flavor get created? It seems, discouragingly, that Americans generally don't want the taste of an actual strawberry; they want their nostalgic taste memory of what a strawberry is like, & when presented w/the real thing, they sometimes find it lacking, as Chen does (“The truth is, the flavor of strawberries, blueberries, oatmeal, and many other foods is in reality difficult to accept.” Really? To whom, exactly? Because that is sure as hell not a supportable blanket statement).
She also goes to the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, to see children growing up & learning to find vegetables appealing; she finds something in it, but she's not totally convinced. She also meets a scientist experimenting w/lightly sugaring vegetables to get people (not just kids) to eat them, which I find a little appalling.
Connecting many of the book's ideas together is the issue of how we view food, & eating, particularly sweets, & how this connects to weight. She cites a depressing study in which people in Belgium, France, Japan, & the US were asked to do word-association exercises about food. When presented with a list of words from which to choose the one best paired with ice cream, Americans chose “fattening,” while the French chose “delicious.” Chocolate cake? American women selected “guilt,” while French women chose “celebration.” Heavy cream? “Unhealthy” to Americans; merely “whipped” to the French. Anyway, lots & lots of fodder for discussion in this book.
One thing that irked me is that Chen's author photo seems designed to say, “Hey, I love sweets, but I'm still thin!”--she is shown from the hips up in a sleeveless dress, hands on hips. No head shot here—we might think she's fat, I guess. :P
Where the Blind Horse Sings: Love and Healing at an Animal Sanctuary - Kathy Stevens. This is a beautiful little book by the founder of Catskill Animal Sanctuary, which cares for abused farm animals. Stevens doesn't have to work hard to come up w/tales of interest about the residents—who may at first seem to be truly remarkable in their personalities, intelligence, & heart. But Stevens has a good point—it is easier to think of the animals she talks about as unique, rather than consider that they may not be that unusual among nonhuman animals, & yet we can't acknowledge this, because we raise them in egregious conditions solely to slaughter them (I would add that many people who would swear to the intelligence & personality of, say, their dogs, happily eat dead pig, even though pigs are comparable in intelligence to dogs).
I am deeply impressed w/all the work put into the sanctuary, & how committed Stevens & her staff & volunteers are. The book's an easy, fast read, & I think anyone who doesn't tear up at least once might have, shall we say, issues. I wish this book got the audience it deserved.
Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships - Tristan Taormino. Great, comprehensive handbook; Taormino distinguishes between polyamory (multiple emotional relationships) & what she calls partnered non-monogamy (swinging & other situations in which there are other sexual, but not emotional, relationships); refreshingly, she doesn't elevate one (poly) above the other. In fact, she doesn't diss monogamy either, & is v. sure to emphasize that it's whatever works for people. She divides up the world of open relationships further into subcategories & has concrete suggestions, questions, & areas of potential concern for each. Really v. well done.
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity - David Allen. Allen's organization system makes a lot of sense; it's based around the idea that everything we have to do should be written down, because having undone things in our brain causes perpetual stress, & that everything has to be broken down into next actions, & lists of these next actions placed where you can act on them (for example, if you are stuck in an airport waiting for a late flight, you should have a “Calls” list w/you to work your way down).
I can see why GTD, as the system is known, is so popular. I am v. interested in starting the process myself, once I move & settle down. Like any organizational system, I think it will pose challenges for people w/mental illness, during bad patches, but the point is that you set up the system so that it will take the least energy to run & maintain, thus making in easier, in theory, to keep up w/stuff even when you are not at your best.
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no subject
Date: 2008-10-19 04:08 pm (UTC)thanks for the review of opening up — i will keep that one in mind.
and maybe it's time to reread GTD, since th idea of getting my inbox to zero was RIDICULOUS when i first read it but now it's how i try to operate, and i'm sure my system could use some refining.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-19 07:07 pm (UTC)When I used to go running more, I absolutely hated it when, upon returning back home, my inlaws (only the women!) would gush "Wow, you've been such a good girl, now you can eat a cake all by yourself!/You can have all the sweets you want!" I was just miffed about it because I interpreted it as them thinking that I was trying hard to lose weight and that no sane person would torture them by running for any other reason... Now I get it: they were probably thinking that eating sweets is a guilty pleasure, and you can only take part in it if you have "tortured" yourself in some manner beforehand.
This might sound totally childish, but I've started to do this to combat any appearances of guilt: when I go to a coffee shop and order a latte, and if the barista asks me what kind of milk I want, I say whole milk. I'm thinking that hell, if I'm getting some kind of a crazy-assed coffee drink to indulge in, why not go all the way? :D
no subject
Date: 2008-10-20 05:33 am (UTC)http://www.Gtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, schedules and a calendar.
A mobile version and iCal are available too.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-14 12:40 am (UTC)http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Out-Leaving-America-Self-reliance/dp/0976082276/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226623206&sr=1-1