Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Mosquitoes

I get bitten by mosquitoes worse than pretty much anyone I know. Well, not just mosquitoes--bugs too. Anyway, I have it bad. While in Physiology class a couple weeks ago, we learned that the make-up of people's blood is different and some people literally attract more mosquitoes than others. One person can be sitting around in the jungle, for example, and be totally fine while the other suffers debilitatingly from bites and post-bite itching/madness. I am in the latter group. To an extreme.
One time I went to Costa Rica for spring break with my ex-boyfriend. I counted over 100 bites on my legs alone to his one or two (seriously).
Interestingly, since moving to New York City, I have suffered worse than probably ever before in my life. The bites are not small, they are huge. They are not short lived and scabby, they are welty and persistent. They hang around in huge red marks on your skin for days, weeks even. Last year I went to the doctor because I thought I had hives or, worse, bedbugs. Nope, just gnarly mosquito bites he said. GOD! They are like BOILS! PLAGUE!They are really fucking miserable and I got my first one just the other day. So, this year, I vow to do better to protect my skin (and those that are forced to look at it) from the madness.
So, I am researching home remedies for mosquito repellent (since I can't verywell have that horrible OFF! or whatever on my skin for the next three months). I want it to be natural and not so stinky! Here's the best of what I came up with but if anyone has anything better to share, it would be MUCH appreciated. Sounds like citronella oil itself is the way to go...
PS Can you burn citronella indoors? haha.

From MotherEarthNews.com:

Herbal Insect Repellent

2 1/2 teaspoons total of any combination of the following essential oils: basil, cedarwood, citronella, juniper, lemon, myrrh, palmarosa, pine, rose geranium and/or rosemary (available at health food stores)

1 cup 190-proof grain alcohol (available in liquor stores)

Place ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake vigorously. Transfer to small bottles for storage. To use, rub a small amount on any exposed skin (test first to be sure your skin will not be adversely affected by the repellent) or dab it on clothing.

Experiment a little to find which essential oils work best with your body chemistry. If you’re lucky, you also will like the way they smell; otherwise, add a few drops of peppermint oil to fine-tune the fragrance.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Person-to-Person Study on Obesity

From the New England Journal of Medicine:

Background The prevalence of obesity has increased substantially over the past 30 years. We performed a quantitative analysis of the nature and extent of the person-to-person spread of obesity as a possible factor contributing to the obesity epidemic.

Methods We evaluated a densely interconnected social network of 12,067 people assessed repeatedly from 1971 to 2003 as part of the Framingham Heart Study. The body-mass index was available for all subjects. We used longitudinal statistical models to examine whether weight gain in one person was associated with weight gain in his or her friends, siblings, spouse, and neighbors.

Conclusions Network phenomena appear to be relevant to the biologic and behavioral trait of obesity, and obesity appears to spread through social ties. These findings have implications for clinical and public health interventions.

Fascinating! Read the full study here.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Lump Sum - Bon Iver

Sold my cold knot

A heavy stone

Sold my red horse for a venture home

To vanish on the bow --

Settling slow


Fit it all, fit it in the doldrums

(Or so the story goes)

Color the era

Film it's historical


My mile could not

Pump the plumb

In my arbor 'till my ardor

Trumped every inner inertia

Lump sum


All at once

Rushing from the sub-pump

(Or so the story goes)

Balance we won't know

We will see when it gets warm

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Pastoral Culinary Tour.

These would be the goats that I ate.
The alps.
Pigs schmeckt gut.
Beef and potatoes at the grotto.
Swiss chocolate.
This is the baby goat I ate. So decadent.
Cheese shop.
Fresh milk from the neighbor.
Fresh bacon from the neighbor.
Fresh goat cheese from the neighbor.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Thinner is better to curb global warming, study says

I usually don't read CNN.com so much, but this is an interesting perspective on 'the situation'...

Been Abroad.

Will post more when I wake up again. :)

Goats.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Trader Joe's Attempting to Knock Out the Wedge Co-Op--ACT NOW


Here is a message from our friends at the Wedge Co-op:


*****************************
Trader Joe's a Block South of the Wedge?
*****************************

Minneapolis City Council Member Robert Lilligren confirmed that "there is a proposed mixed-use development at 2309 Lyndale Avenue. The first floor anchor tenant would be Trader Joe's." That location is a half block south of the Wedge Co-op (in the Le Parisien apartments).

The Wedge relishes good competition, but in this case, we'll be at a huge disadvantage. In order to open this store, Trader Joe's wants a variance in the state liquor licensing law that would allow them to sell beer and wine. None of the local groceries in our area (Lund's, Kowalski's, the co-ops) can sell spirits, but the City Council thinks its a good idea to let national chain Trader Joe's sell cheap Three Buck Chuck on our doorstep.

It isn't fair.

**************
We Need Your Help
**************

This variance is probably going to get rammed through quickly. There's a City Council Meeting this Friday, April 10, at 9:30 a.m. Most likely, it will pass and go to the State Legislature for approval -- according to our Councilman Robert Lilligren, who supports giving unfair advantages to Trader Joe's over dynamic, local businesses.

Please call your council member AS SOON as you get this email! Their contact information is below.

Please forward this email to any contacts who may be willing to act on behalf of fairness to local businesses.

**************
What to Say or Write
**************

If you call, please ask to speak to the Council Person, and if they're not available, ask to leave a message with a staff person.

Consider saying the following:

"I think it's unfair that Trader Joe's could be issued a state liquor license variance, when local groceries are banned from selling beer and wine. Please do not support issuing a variance to Trader Joe's."

You could also make some of the following points:

* Changing the rules to favor Trader Joe's, an international company, makes me question the city's dedication to independent and local businesses.

* A store of Trader Joe's size will have a huge impact on south Minneapolis. Local liquor stores, local grocery chains, and independent stores like the Wedge Co-op will all take a hit from allowing Trade Joe's to sell wine and beer.

* Please show your support for local businesses over giant, international companies. Trader Joe's is owned by the same German company that owns and operates Aldi's, the "German Wal-Mart."

* If the Wedge and other co-ops are negatively impacted by a giant conglomerate, local vendors will be hit, too. Trader Joe's simply can't support Peace Coffee, Sno-Pac, Ames Farm, Sweet Cheeks Baby Food, Mischief Maker Chai, Beeler's Pork, Larry Schultz's eggs, or any local cheeses or vegetable and fruit farmers the way local groceries do.

* Trader Joe's will permanently change the local flavor of this area. The Wedge and Whittier neighborhoods are largely free of big chains and this will open the door for more chains to come in.

* A store this size will compound the already terrible traffic issues here. People won't even want to come to the Lyndale/Franklin area because of the added congestion. Biking will become even more difficult than it already is.

Emails can be created from the above talking points, too. Such as:

Dear [NAME],

I'm writing because I think it's unfair that Trader Joe's could be issued a liquor license variance, when local groceries are banned from selling beer and wine. Please do not support issuing a variance to Trader Joe's.

Please show your support for local businesses over giant, international companies. Trader Joe's is owned by the same German company that owns and operates Aldi's, the "German Wal-Mart." If the Wedge and other co-ops are negatively impacted by a giant conglomerate on their doorsteps, local vendors will be hit, too. Trader Joe's simply can't support Peace Coffee, Sno-Pac, Ames Farm, Sweet Cheeks Baby Food, Mischief Maker Chai, Beeler's Pork, Larry Schultz's eggs, or any local cheeses or vegetable and fruit farmers the way local groceries do.

Thank you for your attention, and I hope I can count on you to vote against issuing a liquor license variance to Trader Joe's.

Sincerely,
YOUR NAME
YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION

******************************
Contact Information for City Council Members
******************************

Find out who your Minneapolis Council Person is here:

http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/

*City Council Members and Contact*

*Paul Ostrow Ward 1*
350 S 5th Street
City Hall, Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415

*Phone*
(612) 673-2201
*Fax*
(612) 673-3940
*E-mail*
Paul.Ostrow@ Paul.Ostrow@ci.minneapolis.mn.us>ci.minneapolis.mn.us Cam.Gordon@ci.minneapolis.mn.us>**

*Cam Gordon Ward 2*
350 S 5th Street
City Hall, Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415

*Phone*
(612) 673-2202
*Cell*
(612) 296-0579
*Fax*
(612) 673-3940
*E-mail*
Cam.Gordon@
ci.minneapolis.mn.us Cam.Gordon@ci.minneapolis.mn.us>**

*Diane Hofstede Ward 3*
350 S 5th Street
City Hall, Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415

*Phone*
(612) 673-2203
*Fax*
(612) 673-3940
*E-mail*
Ward 3 Email Form <http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/contact/email-form-hofstede.asp>

*Barbara Johnson Ward 4*
Council President
350 S 5th Street
City Hall, Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415

*Phone*
(612) 673-2204
*Fax*
(612) 673-3940
*E-mail*
Contact Form <http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/contact/email-form-johnson.asp>

*Don Samuels - Ward 5*
350 S 5th Street
City Hall, Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415

*Phone*
(612) 673-2205
*Fax*
(612) 673-3940
*E-mail*
Don.Samuels@ Don.Samuels@ci.minneapolis.mn.us>ci.minneapolis.mn.us Cam.Gordon@ci.minneapolis.mn.us>

*Robert Lilligren - Ward 6*
Council Vice President
350 S 5th Street
City Hall, Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415

*Phone*
(612) 673-2206
*Fax*
(612) 673-3940
*E-mail*
Robert.Lilligren@
ci.minneapolis.mn.us Robert.Lilligren@ci.minneapolis.mn.us>

*Lisa Goodman Ward 7*
350 S 5th Street
City Hall, Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415

*Phone*
(612) 673-2207
*Fax*
(612) 673-3940
*E-mail*
Lisa Goodman's Email Form <http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/contact/email-form-goodman.asp>

*Elizabeth Glidden Ward 8*
350 S 5th Street
City Hall, Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415

*Phone*
(612) 673-2208
*Fax*
(612) 673-3940
*E-mail*
Elizabeth Glidden's Email Form <http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/contact/email-form-glidden.asp>

Elizabeth.Glidden@
ci.minneapolis.mn.us Elizabeth.Glidden@ci.minneapolis.mn.us>


Gary Schiff - Ward 9

350 S 5th Street
City Hall, Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415

*Phone*
(612) 673-2209
*Fax*
(612) 673-3940
*E-mail*
Contact Form <http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/contact/email-form-schiff.asp>**

*Ralph Remington Ward 10*
350 S 5th Street
City Hall, Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415

*Phone*
(612) 673-2210
*Fax*
(612) 673-3940
*E-mail*
Ralph.Remington@
ci.minneapolis.mn.us Ralph.Remington@ci.minneapolis.mn.us>

*Scott Benson Ward 11*
350 S 5th Street
City Hall, Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415

*Phone*
(612) 673-2211
*Fax*
(612) 673-3940
*E-mail*
Scott Benson's Email Form <http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/contact/email-form-benson.asp>**

*Sandy Colvin Roy - Ward 12*
350 S 5th Street
City Hall, Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415

*Phone*
(612) 673-2212
*Fax*
(612) 673-3940
*E-mail*
Sandy Colvin Roy's Email Form <http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/contact/email-form-roy.asp>

*Betsy Hodges - Ward 13*
350 S 5th Street
City Hall, Room 307
Minneapolis, MN 55415

*Phone*
(612) 673-2213
*Fax*
(612) 673-3940
*E-mail*
Ward 13 Email Form <http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/contact/email-form-hodges.asp>

M.F.K Fisher


It is a perfect spring day in New York and I am reading the best food book. M.F.K Fisher's How to Cook a Wolf couldn't be any more perfect. This is not just because her writing absolutely fits my personality (sassy, honest, humorous, quick yet classy--all things I strive to be! and her prose are downright laughable but so lucid), but it is also an incredible resource, as it is a book about how to conserve/eat well and what to eat during 'hard times'. It contains morevoer a great number of fabulous recipes and cooking techniques. Originally published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 1942 as part of her "Art of Eating" series, this book threads the needle between a love of food and a lack of money. I am devouring it. Here are some snippets I just adored:

"One of the saving graces of the less-monied people of the world has always been, theoretically, that they were forced to eat more unadulterated, less dishonest food than the rich-bitches. It begins to look as if that were a lie. IN our furious defforts to prove that all men are created equal we encourage our radios, our movies, above all our weekly and monthly magazines to set up a fantastic ideal in the minds of family cooks, so that everywhere earnest and eager women are whipping themselves and their budgets to the bone to proved three"balanced" meals a day for their men and children.
It is true, without argument of any kind, that s a people we know much more about correct human nutrition than we did even a few years ago. But we are somewhat confused by all the exciting names [riboflavin, monosodium glutamate, arsofinibarborundum...all fine things, when used with a modicum of nonhysteria] and more so by the solemn exhortations of the 'food editors' of all the slick magazines we read to improve ourselves.
We want, and not only because we are told to but because we sense instinctively that it is right, to give Mortimer III the vitamins and minerals he should absorb in order to be a find sturdy little mortimer indeed. But what a rat race it is...This bugbear of meal-balancing is hard not only on the wills and wishes of the great American family, but is pure hell on the pocketbook. There are countless efficient-looking pages in 'home magazines' each month, marked into twenty-eight or so squares with a suggested menu for each meal of the week, and then one supposedly tempting dish to prepare every day. The lead usually cries, 'Let's economize, Mothers! Here is how you can do it for only 39 cents per person! Try it and help Uncle Sam!'...
It is disheartening too. Now, of all our times in our history, we should be using our minds as well as our hearts in order to survive...to live gracefully if we live at all... We must change...instead of combining a lot of dull and sometimes actively hostile foods into one routine meal after another, three times a day and every day, year after year, in the earnest hope that you are being a good provider, try this simple plan: Balance the day, not each meal."

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Monday, April 6, 2009

(Untitled Post)

it's mucky outside and the bottoms of even your skinniest cigarette style bright mauve jeans get wet and turn to a putrid green on the bottom. your feet hurt anyway because you are too fashionable not to wear the booties from the steven by steve madden store that your sister and you would call 'grenades' for les pieds. god they are tight, how can boots be tight? my feet aren't swollen. your father texts you back, "ha ha", we make jokes. people seem to filter much of their conversation through humor in these times. was it always like that? the last recession or depression seemed so goddamn bleak, my god, those dorthea lange fotos with what look like fly covered children and strong white women who looked gaunt but so tough. we aren't so interesting as americans anymore, are we? just floating along? but we are totally different, aren't we? my professor says in times of economic downturn, often great ideas come about. okay, she was much much less interesting; she said it is often a time of entrepreneurship. entrepreneurship as a word doesn't sound much compared to 'great ideas'. i prefer to think that there are 'great ideas' about. perhaps why i listen to songs on repeat. i often find so much music disatisfying and i can never figure out a proper volume to play it on my ipod. when the train comes it's way too quiet but then ... oh nevermind.
but anyway, this is certainly not dickens! but it is, isn't it? can we not dramatize our current state? melodramatize. god i love a good show. but it is precisely the fact that attitudes are the opposite of down-trodden, there is more intresting modes to be in, isn't there? we are surpassing our former selves. are we moving from capitalism? please please please let it be so a bit.
so class is over and you are going to work and then when work is over you will go home and finally your day will begin and you will finally feel. eat.