Okay, I have a bit of time to myself here, so I'm going to post a few bits and pieces I have been mulling over for course topics.

1.) Unit: Identity
- Virtual vs. Reality = Who are you on AOL, Facebook, and Myspace vs. Who you are in class, in life, in the park
- Masking = Is there such a thing as an identity? Or is it a collection of masks? Is identity just your particular theme choice in masks?
- Factors = In shaping our identities, where do we draw our ideas, our concepts about who we should be and why?

2.) Unit: High School
- How the teens in high schools look to reate their image for four years and usually end up questioning it before leaving
- The system we learn in high school of social standards and gossip and how it is a lifelong plague
- Grading and sheep

3.) Beauty
- Physical or Emotional? = Which one truly wins? Is there a gender dispute at the core of this idea?
- Vanity (Dorian Gray) and Modesty (No example yet)

The sky is beautiful today

So I'm here at work and risking being fired in order to just remark on how beautiful the sky is and how no matter what the day brings, the sky is signal for hope and calmness in an otherwise hectic atmosphere.

A Fresh Start

Okay, so I understand I was late with the first blog. sorry about that. Work tired me out, but now I'm posting up.

1. What ideas or feelings do you find yourself focusing on these days?

Identity is a big one, something that has come up for me a lot. I see that highschool is a lot about identifying yourself, who you are, what you are, and I see that it is a very impressionable time for adolescents. This means that I see many different guiding factors attempting to shape my mind into what they believe I should be. Teachers, parents, and peers all have their ideas about how we should be, and so all choose to convince the others that their own view is correct. This is where I value having a summer job, something to take me away from these influences and lets me get a perspective from outside this school bullshit. I know now better than I ever could exaclty who I am. Ask me in person, though, It may get lengthy and tangential.

2. 2. Its weird that school deeply structures your life for 9.5 months - from 7am-3:10pm you're dealing with school and beyond that, with homework and projects. Then all of a sudden you're in summer vacation and have no institutional structure. How does the contrast feel to you? Does family/capitalist-labor/etc conquer the area that the school has temporarily abdicated, leaving you no freer than before or do you have more freedom? Have you been enjoying your time? Are there aspects of school that you miss? Are there aspects of school that you're particularly glad to have a break from? How are you filling/wasting/enjoying the extra time you now have?

To be honest, although I am trapped in the capitalist machine as a slave, erm, rather, a "laborer", things are ok for me. I'm at the point in my life where I do not yet have to pay rent or bills, so any money I earn is strictly for my own recreational use. Fucked up part is, I work 12 hours a day or more 6 days a week to get it. Also, I get treated like a dog. Or not even, because dogs are pet and stroked and coddled. I get treated like a NYC rat. I'm 17 so I get no respect from coworkers or employers, and I'm a laborer so I get no respect from clients. I hate that part so very much. There are a few workers who I actually look forward to working with, though, people who make the job bearable. I miss seeing some friends everyday, but I like independence to make plans whenever I really want.

3. How many hours a week would you be willing to put towards reading an easyish novel that we were all reading? How many hours a week would you be willing to put towards reading a hardish essay that we were all reading? How many combined?
6:5: 11

4. What is a small - 2-7 hour long - adventure that you'd enjoy doing with the rest of us? For instance - make a short film, go to Rockaway Beach, walk on the Appalachian Trail. see a strange movie?

Short film, i already have a script. Beach day, though coney island, strange movie, yes. Also, visit the freedom tunnel and sit around in a circle or a bonfire sharing stories + making memories.

5. Will you be able to meet in the City for the whole summer or do you have a planned excursion for part of the summer - if so, when?
I'm working all summer for now, though i may go to ireland for a couple weeks late august, haven't decided yet.

6.6. What else would you be interested to address or read other peoples' thoughts on?

Everyones stories, small or large. Also, deep insightful group heart to hearts where we grow connected as individuals.

Final Wrap Up Thoughts.

It's past the time grades were due, and I anticipate I won't use this same blog again next year.
So on the off chance that anyone will still read this, I just wanted to post up a few thoughts. They are still kind of relevant.

Okay, so right now, it's 3:44 and after a walk around outside, I remembered some amazing nights in my childhood. When I was younger, I had a group of friends. In this group were Nikko, Gabe, Robert, Sam, Jay, Philip, and as I remember Matt Smith was in there sometimes. We were a pretty solid group, and now that I can remember without grimacing, we weren’t the coolest kids in the grade. (They may argue that, but at least, thats how I saw things.) It was 7th grade and our group usually hung out our Nikko’s place. I remembered recently (Now, actually) that there were a couple of nights that we would turn out all the lights at 2-3 am and run around the apartment with those old light-up lightsabers. Man, those were the days. I remember having these super intense, gut-clenching lightsaber battles that would occupy our whole scope of life. There were never any simpler times than these. I think that as long as I live, I’ll treasure these nights at Nikko’s place, duking it out jedi-style while the city slept, unaware of the intensity of our imaginations, and the endless boundaries of our simple fun.

I'm not sure why, but I felt like sharing it. And I don't feel like pointing it out, but I feel it is relevant to the course.

Also, I would honestly like to thank everyone who ever looked at my blog, who ever thought something good or bad about anything I wrote here, and finally, for bringing some charisma to the class.

How To avoid a Meaningless life - Final Paper draft 2

Earlier on in the year, I posted a video that focused primarily on being outside and riding my longboard. To me there was no greater meaning in my life. I could condense that Idea to simply doing what I wanted to do, without worry of societal pressure. Or something similar. From then, we have gone through several units, largest of which I would say is the Animal unit. I think that specifically this unit was the most applicable to my standing principles on living a good and meaningful life, second being the health unit, which also applies if you think about it. Anywho, What I was trying to say was this; in connecting the Animal unit and the ideas we presented in it, those ideas of being outside with nature and recognizing our primal need to be surrounded by sunlight and pleasant activity only bolsters my original ideas about the meaning of life. It may not be particularly insightful, but I feel that by touching back to my natural roots as a human animal, I can appreciate the world more for the beauty inherent.
As for the health unit, well that is also applicable. Longboarding is helpful to health and well being both physically from the exercise of the action and emotionally/mentally from the endorphins released and the space to clear my head of everything but the linear: what's in front of me, slow down, speed up, etc. I get the rush of wind through my hair and the burn of exercise, so it's like I'm tackling two fronts in the meaningful aspect. Also, considering that I burn no fossil fuels in the process, I am safely within some parameters of a good life, because I am not detracting from the environment or other people's happiness with my activity.
Now, We have come to see from our analysis of corporate culture that to be happy is the main Idea that companies broadcast as a meaningful and good life. There exist so so so many ads on tv that tell us to put a smile on, be happy, do what feels right, etc. Does the fact that these are corporate sponsored ads mean that the messages are inherently false? I would say not, though to a certain extent this is the easy way out. To be happy is a truly noble pursuit that so few people ever achieve. Being happy is a pleasant emotion for things to feel, and leads to a more productive and less stressful existence. However, the corporate message of happiness seems to be that you can only find happiness with their products, their way of life. This is where the nice sunny, peaceful meadow-esque image of happiness meets the grinding metal and fiery brimstone of industry. Corporations would have Us believe that to be happy is to have expensive clothes and goods, that to be satisfied is to eat at a five star restaurant every night and shop at places like Wal-Mart and Target. I would say that we should take this message as a warning. That yes, we should be happy. Most people deserve happiness. But people should also know that you can be happy without a name-brand wardrobe. You should be informed in your happiness. The best things in life are free. I never understood that phrase until recently, but it is true. A walk in the park will probably leave you more happy than a Whopper ever could.
If you want to live your life with some meaning, you must also do your best to be aware of the things that try to mold and shape you, to turn you into a puppet. We didn't delve particularly deeply into it, but the educational system is just one of the many guiding factors that try to change us from what we want to be into what they believe we should be. If I had the brain and thoughts I do now back when i was a kindergardener, I would certainly put a stop to all this crap they feed us when we are young. I'll use a perfectly fitting personal example. When i was in kindergarden, for our graduating ceremony we had to announce what we wanted to be when we grew up. Like a perfectly sane creative kid, I said I wanted to be an artist. My teacher, and I quote, told me "that job isn't in the book so I have to pick a new one". Whaaaaaaat kind of shit is that? I'm 6, bitch, if I want to be an artist. So when it came time to actually say it aloud on stage in front of everyone, what did I say? that I wanted to be an artist. Now, this is fitting two ways; it shows that from the earliest age, my natural instinct was to live my life happily, doing what pleases me most. Who knows, maybe if I had had that support back then, I would be a phenomenal artist now, but I didn't. i would argue that in order to have a fufilling life, am meaningful life, i would say that you should go with what you are naturally inclined to be. From early on we should have an educational system focused to the kids' interests. Not everyone will need to know complicated math and sciences for their lives, and then some others will not need to know how to structure paragraphs and proper grammar. For humaity in general to reach a more meaningful state of being, drastically altering the educational system will be one of the first crucial steps.

How to Avoid a Meaningless life - Final Paper

Earlier on in the year, I posted a video that focused primarily on being outside and riding my longboard. To me there was no greater meaning in my life. I could condense that Idea to simply doing what I wanted to do, without worry of societal pressure. Or something similar. From then, we have gone through several units, largest of which I would say is the Animal unit. I think that specifically this unit was the most applicable to my standing principles on living a good and meaningful life, second being the health unit, which also applies if you think about it. Anywho, What I was trying to say was this; in connecting the Animal unit and the ideas we presented in it, those ideas of being outside with nature and recognizing our primal need to be surrounded by sunlight and pleasant activity only bolsters my original ideas about the meaning of life. It may not be particularly insightful, but I feel that by touching back to my natural roots as a human animal, I can appreciate the world more for the beauty inherent.
As for the health unit, well that is also applicable. Longboarding is helpful to health and well being both physically from the exercise of the action and emotionally/mentally from the endorphins released and the space to clear my head of everything but the linear: what's in front of me, slow down, speed up, etc. I get the rush of wind through my hair and the burn of exercise, so it's like I'm tackling two fronts in the meaningful aspect. Also, considering that I burn no fossil fuels in the process, I am safely within some parameters of a good life, because I am not detracting from the environment or other people's happiness with my activity.
Now, We have come to see from our analysis of corporate culture that to be happy is the main Idea that companies broadcast as a meaningful and good life. There exist so so so many ads on tv that tell us to put a smile on, be happy, do what feels right, etc. Does the fact that these are corporate sponsored ads mean that the messages are inherently false? I would say not, though to a certain extent this is the easy way out. To be happy is a truly noble pursuit that so few people ever achieve. Being happy is a pleasant emotion for things to feel, and leads to a more productive and less stressful existence. However, the corporate message of happiness seems to be that you can only find happiness with their products, their way of life. This is where the nice sunny, peaceful meadow-esque image of happiness meets the grinding metal and fiery brimstone of industry. Corporations would have Us believe that to be happy is to have expensive clothes and goods, that to be satisfied is to eat at a five star restaurant every night and shop at places like Wal-Mart and Target. I would say that we should take this message as a warning. That yes, we should be happy. Most people deserve happiness. But people should also know that you can be happy without a name-brand wardrobe. You should be informed in your happiness. The best things in life are free. I never understood that phrase until recently, but it is true. A walk in the park will probably leave you more happy than a Whopper ever could.
If you want to live your life with some meaning, you must also do your best to be aware of the things that try to mold and shape you, to turn you into a puppet.

Response to Jared Diamond's Collapse

In Jared Diamond's essay on the collapse of the Easter islanders, we see that these people ran out of their natural resources in an ego-driven contest to be the biggest, richest person around. Right off the bat we see that connection to the American society that is all about ripping off your peers in order that you outshine your neighbor. We also follow in a similar path to that of the Easter islanders because of our dependency on oil and our continued depletion of it. We als

Final Food Paper Draft

In the first few pages of his book The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan makes the point that America, while being overly concerned with health and the kinds of food we eat, is ultimately less healthy than countries like italy or france because of that. Pollan describes how the blend of cultures in America is a leading reason for the crisis we face when it comes to deciding on a "food culture". I would make the argument that this is in itself a culture of variety, that we as Americans have such a plethora of foods from which to choose that we make our own personal food cultures. Not to mention that food in America also has its own industrial culture - ie burgers, fries, and sodas. As for our seeming gullibility for fad diets and expert advice, I would say that this is just another example of sampling what American food cultures have to offer to consumer. Of course, there is also the fact that humans are little more than two-legged sheep, flocking as a herd to wherever the figurative 'man' leads them. Experts prey on the sense of insecurity that plagues the little sheepies by telling them that they are living an unholy abomination of a lifestyle, that if they only decide to exactly as their told, they can improve from their hopeless situation.
Reading through with a more in-depth approach I found that this book focused largely on an examination at the industrial farm. Specifically focused on the farmer George Naylor, we see that this is your stereotypical American farm, having been handed down through generations of Naylor men. However, we see the impacts of the industrialization of food on this farm, for though the farm yields acres of corn, and will feed approximately 129 Americans alone, Naylor himself will not be initially part of that figure. The corn is "basically inedible" describes Pollan, citing that the corn that is grown on the farm must first be processed and tried to be able to feed humans. That might have been the most interesting part of the chapter- the fact that a farmer's crops simply cannot feed him without the stains of industry first. Another piece of this chapter I found interesting was the sheer amount of corn gathered from a single acre of corn per harvest. Pollan tells us that a single acre of this farm will yield to slightly more than ten thousand pounds of corn. 1.8 million pounds for the whole field. To me that sounds like enough to feed a few towns, not the 129 Pollan had approximated earlier. This leaves me with the question of how many pounds of kernels equates to a single person, so that they get a figure like that.
Now, after reading some of Omnivore’s dilemma as well as seeing videos like the Meatrix and Cows With Guns, I have developed a few ideas about industrial foods. I saw some atrocities committed to animals in the documentary “Our Daily Bread” by workers who seemed emotionless and indifferent and I also saw in the Meatrix some colorful examples of how industrial farms mistreat their animals. This gets coupled with my growing distaste for beef and meat to bring about a desire for change in my diet. I have decided to gradually approach vegetarianism, by initially eliminating beef foods, then moving on to chicken, fish, etc. I assume that by eating simpler foods like salads and fruits, I can be healthier because I’m not absorbing the infected bits of meat that comes from mistreated farm animals. By eating and living a vegetarian lifestyle, you will not only be making yourself healthier, but you will be helping to heal the world. Some facts I found on vegetarian and vegan living show that plants produce 10 times more protein per acre than animals do, and that the use of unused plant protein would help decrease the human protein deficit by upwards of 90%.
I also understand that many

As far as scary food videos, this about covers it. I actually like the ideas though, these fatty American fast foods really will kill you.

Response to Industrial Food Sources

The Meatrix-
This video was very entertaining, somewhat spoofing on the ideas present in the Matrix. However, the content of the video was very eye-opening. The idea that we are being blinded by agricultural corporation to believe things are fine and dandy is a scary one. The fact that cows and chickens are herded by the hundreds into cramped, dark factory cages makes me shiver on their behalf. I've been to a legitimate milk farm in Ireland, my grandfather's, and I can safely say that things there are much more natural and pleasant. Cows get to feed on grass and spend their whole lives in the fields. When it comes to milking, yes, they are connected to a machine, but it is not like the cramped conditions displayed in the Meatrix videos. I believe that cows and other animals should be allowed to live their lives out in the fields doing as they please, and not in a dark cramped space where they get sick, have their tails cut off, and are feed horrible cannibalistic concoctions. Mad cow disease isn't a pleasant thing I'm sure, and if we were to feed OUR children some of OUR blood, we would be absolutely disgusted in ourselves.

Colbert vs. Pollan
I like how relatable this made Pollan seem. After reading some of his Omnivore's Dilemma, I had the impression that he was riding atop his high horse, condemning us normal eaters for our destructive ignorance. This talk made Pollan just a normal guy with the right ideas and concerns for food. By admitting that he permits his son to have the colorful and factory made cereals once in a while is a crucial move for his relatability (evidently this isn't a word but I'm making it one) to the common working parent who might not have time to look for the healthy alternative. Pollan understands that it isn't specifically the food that is bad for us, but the method by which it is made, processed, etc.

Extra Credit Examination of Omnivore's Dilemma

Since we read a few chapters in class already, for my Pollan responses I jumped to chapter two: The Farm.

In my pre-read I skimmed over the first couple sentences of each paragraph as well as the headings for each subsection in the chapter. From this I gleaned that this chapter was about the physical maintenance of the farm, from the planting to the harvesting, and everything in between.

Reading through with a more in-depth approach I found that this was an examination at the industrial farm. Specifically focused on the farmer George Naylor, we see that this is your stereotypical American farm, having been handed down through generations of Naylor men. However, we see the impacts of the industrialization of food on this farm, for though the farm yields acres of corn, and will feed approximately 129 Americans alone, Naylor himself will not be initially part of that figure. The corn is "basically inedible" describes Pollan, citing that the corn that is grown on the farm must first be processed and tried to be able to feed humans. That might have been the most interesting part of the chapter- the fact that a farmer's crops simply cannot feed him without the stains of industry first. Another piece of this chapter I found interesting was the sheer amount of corn gathered fro ma single acre of corn per harvest. Pollan tells us that a single acre of this farm will yield to slightly more than ten thousand pounds of corn. 1.8 million pounds for the whole field. To me that sounds like enough to feed a few towns, not the 129 Pollan had approximated earlier. This leaves me with the question of how many pounds of kernels equates to a single person, so that they get a figure like that.

This has affected my understanding of food in that I realize the taint of industry destroying our crops. I believe that there was a quote that sums up my feelings exactly. Something along the lines of "We haven't aquired the technology that allows us to synthesize food from oil.....yet.

Posted to Kate
Kate-
I like that you acknowledge the soil issue. I overlooked that in my own post, and I will add it to a second draft. Now, when you wonder if technology is a problem, I would say that Kiana's point is essential. Technology, for all of its flaws, greatly reduces the amount of manpower needed, and also allows for more crop to be grown. However, the counter-argument to that is that less technology would encourage more independent farming, so i guess there's that. As for the corn issue, the fact that consumers demand a higher amount of it is a result of a capitalistic idea, the concept of supply and demand. When the demand is greater than the supply, the economy can boost, so perhaps asking for more than there is is good up to a certain point.

Commenting on other people's work

This post is interesting, kate, but it seems to me as though you are only regurgitating what was said in the book, not so much responding to the material. I think maybe you should consider a 2nd draft and post additional personal thoughts on the ideas.
-Posted to kate

I like this post and especially how you referred to AMericans as "they" and not "we", meaning that while they might not be able to see through the fad diet system, you can. I also think it was good for you to reference material discussed in class as evidence to bolster the post.
-Posted to Yu Xi

I think that it's very interesting that your mother cooks what she wants to cook. I just wonder, and this is only nitpicking, where did her own preferences come from? Did her mother do the same things she does now? Also, i think that is nice to have a vegan relative. maybe you should try some of her food if you haven't already.
-Posted to Rachel Jermansky

Easy and Delicious Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients
1 (6 ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 (14 ounce) can eagle brand sweetened condensed milk (do not use evaporated milk)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt (I actually use less than this)

Directions
1.) Buy ingredients
2.) Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
3.) With mixer, beat pumpkin, Eagle® Brand, eggs, spices, and salt.
4.) Pour into Ready Crust®.
5.) Bake 15 minutes.
6.) Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F; bake 35 to 40 minutes longer or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean.
7.) Cool.
8.) Serve with whipped cream.
9.) Refrigerate leftovers.

For this assignment please respond briefly to Michael Pollan's argument, in the first few pages of Omnivore's Dilemma, that we as a culture lack a stable food culture like the Italians or French, are obsessed with health, are confused and anxious about food, and therefore easily succumb to various expert-directed food fads.

What food experts do you and your family pay attention to - scientists, journalists, chefs, commercials on tv, doctors, nutritionists, health officials, book authors?

In the first few pages of his book The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan makes the point that America, while being overly concerned with health and the kinds of food we eat, is ultimately less healthy than countries like italy or france because of that. Pollan describes how the blend of cultures in America is a leading reason for the crisis we face when it comes to deciding on a "food culture". I would make the argument that this is in itself a culture of variety, that we as Americans have such a plethora of foods from which to choose that we make our own personal food cultures.
not to mention that food in America also has its own industrial culture - ie burgers, fries, and sodas. As for our seeming gullibility for fad diets and expert advice, I would say that this is just another example of sampling what American food cultures have to offer to consumer. Of course, there is also the fact that humans are little more than two-legged sheep, flocking as a herd to wherever the figurative 'man' leads them. Experts prey on the sense of insecurity that plagues the little sheepies by telling them that they are living an unholy abomination of a lifestyle, that if they only decide to exactly as their told, they can improve from their hopeless situation.

Grocery Store Assignment

It's safe to say that when my family goes to the store, we aim for the lower prices. We sacrifice name-brand foods for the cheaper knock-offs. Thinking about that, I think that is a much better alternative than looking out for the stuff we see on tv. If you can have the same tasting stuff at half the cost with twice the quantity, why not? I think a lot of that is image. Grocery stores always have to maintain their image, stocking up heavily on the TV advertised foods, while placing a lower emphasis on the general brand sale. Typically when we go to the grocery store, we buy enough food to hold out for a couple of weeks, when we have to go back. We buy a lot of dinner meats as well as a supply of flash-frozen microwavable foods for the days when no one feels like cooking. The stuff might taste like cardboard, but its filling.

My habitual eating habits usually surprise people. I don't eat a whole lot. I wake up and skip breakfast most of the time because I'm never hungry. I eat a school lunch, which means a burger or chicken something. I go home and there's usually some kind of dinner waiting, always with some kind of meat or poultry and carbs. Recently I've been requesting that I have some kind of salad or vegetable alternative to meat because meat has started to disgust me. Not so much because of animal cruelty or anything, but because of it's heavy, bloody, greasy taste. Echh. Other than this I eat sparsely, sometime snacking on chips or what might be in our press.

May Day Assignment

Looking through some of my older posts, I saw before that for the holiday analysis assignment, I focused on Labor Day. So when we learned about May Day in class, I had a vague recollection of the events involved in the making of it as well as knowledge of the fact that it was moved to the first monday in september. Now, without knowing that there had been civilian casualties during the protests for a shorter workday, I might not have cared too much that our day off in May was moved to september. Looking at it that way, it's just splitting hairs to argue that it should rightfully be on May 1st. However, considering the fact that this was a goal fought tooth and nail for by the labor unions of america, by the hard working men and women of the country, I can see the outrage at the fact that the government brushed it aside to appease us. The fact that every other country in the world recognises may day as a holiday shows how the US government mocks the people and takes away the fight from them. May day is not a holiday focused on by the media nor is it truly taught in schools. However, labor day becomes a huge corporate pinata where people flock to sales at their favorite retail outlet. At a certain point, the american people need to take the fight back to the government. The question is why haven't we already?

Food Journal

Starting with last nights dinner, we had pasta in tomato sauce with ground beef. I had a 3/4 cup serving alongside a bowl of salad with nuts, croutons, lettuce, tomatoes, and carrots. Eating these things I felt somewhat disgusted, as I grow ever more tired with eating beef and meat products. I felt healthier eating the salad, because of the lower amount of calories and the lighter feel in my stomach. I ate with a fork in my right hand, using the same fork for the salad then the pasta. It was just me alone at the table as my sister watched TV and my mother was getting ready for work.

This morning I had a chocolate doughnut from a street vendor, feeling guilty about it but needing to stave off the hunger and to get my metabolism going in the morning. The problem is I never feel hungry and so I often skip breakfast although I hear that it is unhealthy to do so, that your metabolism will automatically accept our lunch and store it as fat because of missing breakfast. I brought it into school in a brown paper bag and opened it up in class. Marco asked me for a bite of it and so I offered him half. I ate my half with my right hand, elbows on the table, waiting for class to begin.

For lunch today I had the school lunch version of meatballs and garlic bread, with chocolate milk. I ate this rather disdainfully as the rubbery meatballs tried very desperately to not be eaten, and the garlic bread turned out to be actual sliced white bread with bits of garlic stuck to it. The chocolate milk is a guilty pleasure because it tastes good at the cost of being high in calories. I know I could always go for the healthier white milk, but I really detest regular milk and drink it sparingly. I ate this with a plastic fork in my right hand, with my hands for the bread. We talked at lunch about a few scattered things but mostly we just played the movie game.

Afterschool I had the Make Your Own Choices meeting where we all snacked on gummy fruit snacks and cookies, all washed down with apple juice. While we were doing so me and Chloe remarked on how fat that would make us look in this very assignment. Oh well. It was a happy thing because it was a reprieve from school and exhibitions, so we indulged a little bit. It just means I have to hit the gym harder tomorrow.

For dinner, my friend surprised us and brought over McDonald's cheeseburgers and chicken sandwiches. Eager to replace the beef in my diet, I went for the latter. I ate it feeling happier because of the taste, but greasier because of the...grease. After this I sat down and have been doing my exhibition since. And coughing. I ate the food with my hands, absentmindedly chewing while thinking about more important things in my head.

I have just finished eating a chicken cutlet sandwich from the deli down the block. It was delicious, and I feel at leas a small bit healthier because it was deli food and not fast food. I figure it must be at least a little better for me. I ate it in my two hands alone at my laptop while working on my exhibition and so I savored the taste as I tried to focus on finishing my work.

Food Assignment 3

How do I do food? How does my family do food? How does corporate America do food?

Starting with me, my food habits are, for the most part, are pretty standard American. I wake up and skip breakfast most days, or have the occasional bowl of cereal, and then for lunch I eat school lunch, god help me. Dinner is usually home-cooked by my mother, or ordered in when not. I'm not cautious of eating at fast food restaurants, regardless of how fattening the food may be. I do count calories, though, whatever that may mean. I try to keep it all within a 2,000 calorie diet. I think carbs might outweigh proteins in my diet, something I am working on changing.

My family does food in a very traditional irish way. We all sit down for dinner, provided we're all home, and we all eat together. Food is varied, based on what new food item my mother saw on some episode of Rachel Ray. There is usually ample carbs and meat to go with it, usually salad as well. Salad containing nuts, raisins, tomatoes, lettuce in a few colors, and croutons. With italian dressing. Food usually spiced with some herbs, or something. When we have big sunday dinners, its always some classic meal of porkchops and mash or steak and mash or lampchops and spuds. Always. I guess we're pretty white. We take around 30-45 minutes to eat based on the food, after which my brother and I do dishes while my dad retreats to watch some TV or read a book, and my Mom gets ready to go to work. My sister might do something as well, usually glued to the television.

White corporate america does dinner the way I just described above. Mom/wife makes food, family all joins in to eat it, kids do cleanup while parents relax a little bit. The foods represented by corporate Americans are very rich and full, glistening turkeys and glazed hams, always an ample supply of it, regardless of whether or not the family will manage to finish it all.

List of items in my refrigerator:

Box of cherry tomatoes
Can of Coke
2 jars of salsa
Poland spring sparkling water
dozen eggs
Grape and strawberry jellies
orange marmalade
country crock butter
mustard
blackcurrant jam
cough syrup
stick of butter
more mustard
peanut butter
gallon of milk
gallon of water
grape jelly
whole wheat bread
shredded cheese )provolone)
white grape sparkling water
leftover pork fried rice
3 polish beers
mayonaisse
apple sauce
spiced beetroot
marzipan bar
crushed garlic
tortillas
lettuce
orange juice ketchup
6 different dressings
lemonade
hot sauce

Analysis:
Keeping in mind that my mother was recently gone to Ireland on holiday, I think that the state of our fridge is to be expected. Being as my father and my brother and I don't pick up groceries, we can't expect there to be any food of real meal substance. Basically this leaves us with the condiments and stuff that just happens to be there. Analyzing that, I might assume that this fridge indicates a group of people who don't hold the types of food they eat at the highest calibur, but they are aware that some things are healthier than others. the presence of the lettuce and tomatoes might indicate as much. However, the high quantity of sugary jams and jellies indicate that these people do not know the caloric danger of over-indulging on jams and jellied breads.

Thought on Morality and the African Condition

For 200$ and the aid of UNICEF, you can guarantee an unhealthy 3-year old African child the chance to become a healthy 6 - year old african child. You can kick-start the starving children of Africa and give them the foundation they need to live a new, healthier life, allowing them to have a real chance at a real life. This, according to Utilitarian views proposed by Peter Singer, would be the morally correct thing to do. In fact, if you aren't already doing this and can afford to, you are morally wrong in the eyes of Singer and other utilitarian philosophers. Why should we not donate the 200$? What, if anything, holds us back from achieving moral purity? It can be argued that the immediacy of the situation deters many people from realizing that to send this money to the starving children is to save a life. By only seeing the images of the strife from a safe distance, people are not encouraged to act upon their compassionate instinct for their fellow humans. People can sit back and not feel guilty because they reason that surely someone else is taking care of the problem, and why should they have to? They worked for their money, only to send it off to some country they've never been to, to a child they'll never see. On the other hand, are these people right? Are they unknowingly fighting against an unjust enemy? By not donating this money, people like columnist Kevin Myers would argue (http://www.independent.ie/
opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/writing-what-i-should-have-written-so-many-years-ago-1437779.html) that you are doing the right thing by not contributing to dangerous living conditions in places like Ethiopia, which received millions of dollars in benefits from the Live Aid concert in 1986. The conditions of which Myers makes note are those that concern the corrupt system in place in Ethiopia, a system based on Warlords who control the flow of everything from food to money in ethiopia. Myers goes so far as to say that he 'little teary-eyed starving child you saved back in 86' is now a misogynistic 20 something wielding a Kalashinikov. Myers would say that to donate now is to feed a corrupt system that benefits the warlords in charge but ultimately hurts the innocent civilians. He remarks that while the country may have been in dire straights 20-some-odd years ago, the population has been able to more than double, regardless of how badly the economic crisis may have gotten. Acknowledging these two points of view, its is up to oneself to determine which cause is truly more 'noble'; the one who contributes to the cause to give a child a chance at life, with the risk of them growing up to become a misogynistic armed insurgent, or those who choose to not donate and risk the lives of countless innocents caught in the tumult of a country in the gutter. Do or don't is the decision, there is no idle standing by in this situation. I still need five words.