sunday afternoon on the island of la grande jette. georges seurat, 1884-1886. oil on canvas

So, I think people know that I am not one for New Year's resolutions. I mean if it ain't broke, don't fix it right? And it is almost February so I would be a little behind to make one at this point. To keep myself from being tardy, I won't make a resolution. I will instead add a new facet to my lifestyle to improve upon this 12 month cycle. I want to reconnect with many of my old friends from high school and college. I find it amazing the length of time that has passed since the last time I've had contact with people who I used to speak to on a daily basis. (And yeah, I know I've really just made a New Year's resolution...assholes)
How do people drift in and out of our lives so easily? What factors determine whether you will ever talk to a close friend again? It's fascinating to me. I have some friends who I know will always be a part of my life now whether I like it or not. Yet there are people I felt extremely close to who I haven't seen or even spoken to in years. I miss the connections and experiences I had with some of these people. I find I blame myself for the, shall I say "falling out." I didn't call enough, I didn't try enough, or something (Just a note: my mother is the exact opposite and is never at fault when friendships strain, maybe she isn't as Jew-ish as I am).
Regardless I will make an attempt to regain some contact with many of my old friends. You've been warned.

last judgement of hu-nefer, from his tomb at thebes, egypt, dynasty xix, ca. 1290-1280 bce. painted papyrus scroll

The Egyptians viewed death not as an ending, but another stage for the ka, or life force, to continue on. What's to say that we can't all find our own means of preserving our ka for immortality? The contributions we make in our lifetimes define the legacy we leave behind. We are guaranteed to make mistakes, to lose track, to fail, but if we dont, we have not really tried. And we must try. With more fervor than will be expected of us. We will not be remembered for our complacency, but for our eagerness to overcome our human failings in an attempt to make, for even a second, a contribution that rectifies the oxygen used during our short lifetimes. Thank you Heath Ledger.

I watched one of my favorite episodes of the West Wing Season Three tonight. I was moved to watch it because it's the one where CJ Cregg is pondering the motives behind the song "I'm too Sexy"by Right Said Fred. (CJ: "So it's not a problem? It's not a song about somebody having a problem?" Carol: "No, he's feeling good. That's why he's singing.") "Gone Quiet" is the episode when Bruno Gianelli admonishes Democrats for being unwilling to play the same game as the other guys. He says,

We will all need some therapy because somebody came along and said liberal means soft on crime, soft on drugs, soft on Communism, soft on defense. And we're going to tax you back to the stone age because people shouldn't have to work if they dont want to. And instead of saying, 'Well, excuse me, you right-wing reactionary, xenophobic, homophobic, anti-education, anti-choice, pro-gun Leave it to Beaver trip back to the '50s.' We cowered in the corner and said, 'Please don't hurt me.'

I dont believe I have ever heard a better challenge to Democrats. One of the show's best moments.

And if you're still not sure which one of those kooky Presidential hopefuls to vote for, then check out this link: Glassbooth
It's interesting to note that if you answer the questions liberally, but then choose conservative answers on global warming and gay marriage, you should be voting for a republican. I dont know that the quiz handles moderates too well. I do have to give credit since it points out key issues and where candidates fall within those issues. I did line up the strongest with Mike Gravel, but I dont count him since he's probably going to be dropping out soon, and am pleased that I line up with John Edwards as my second choice. Edwards is of course my first choice.

One last thing, check out Radiohead's In Rainbows because it is probably one of the most gorgeous albums I have heard in years. I leave you with some of the lyrics to my current favorite song on the album, "Videotape."

When I'm at the pearly gates
This will be on my videotape
When Mephistopheles is just beneath
And he's reaching up to grab me
This is one for the good days
And I have it all here in
In red blue green
You are my center when I spin away
Out of control on videotape
This is my way of saying goodbye
Because I cant do it face to face
So I'm talking to you before it's too late
No matter what happens now
I shouldnt be afraid
Because I know today has been the most perfect day I've ever seen

flashing lights

Please excuse my recent absence. I was experiencing a lack of Internet at home and a lack of time elsewhere. At this point I seem to be back on track, that is unless the noise emanating from the 'puter are really as ominous as I fear. Let's get on with it then.

I paid a little more attention while I was grocery shopping the other night and happened to run across a bottle of chocolate milk from Traderspoint Creamery of Zionsville, IN. Traderspoint is a certified organic farm that was listed at www.eatwild.com which I reported on last time when discussing The Omnivore's Dilemma. I really enjoyed it and was surprised by how flavorful it is. The chocolate flavor was very rich and creamy much more so than any other chocolate milk I have tried before. So I may pick that one up more often.

The latest issue of Details magazine (yes the one with Zac Efron on it) featured some good reading. Probably the most interesting thing Details features monthly is their "Know + Tell" section which always features various statistics, new slang, interesting quotes, etc. that can be downright shocking and pointed. For instance according to an internal memo at Comcast (the cable and Internet provider), it costs $1000 for the US government to set up surveillance on one of their customer's personal email. It is then a $750 a month for continued access. I don't know which facet of this is so disgusting: that a company makes a profit off of practice which is a complete violation of privacy or that the ungodly amount of my paycheck I don't get is being used to fund it. I really haven't seen much data regarding where the current Presidential hopefuls stand on the Patriot Act and so on, however I think citizens' right to privacy is something worth discussing.

Another section that keeps me buying Details every month is "10 Rules of Style." Every month they ask a designer to list some of his/her dictates of style, and this month it was A.P.C designer Jean Touitou. He stated, "If you can tell a man's sexuality by the way he dresses-like a 'gay' uniform or a 'macho' uniform-that's disgusting." I certainly agree. I am so tired of seeing clothes that are clearly geared to gays being worn in full force to bars (and I will admit I may have committed this sin in my younger days). One of the joys of fashion is the way it compliments the wearer not the way it announces how they like it. Plus, I'm all about the mystery...it's so much sexier.

required reading for anyone who eats

My parents wisely obeyed my Christmas demands this year, well a couple of them anyway, and I was greeted with the book cover you see to the left. This book should really be read by anyone who cares about what they consume. Pollan carefully traces the origins of four meals from their most basic element to how major components of the meal are processed and sold to what the final product looks and tastes like.
Michael Pollan challenges our notions of consumption and thereby challenges us to be more aware of what it is we are consuming. Most of us stop into the supermarket or restaurant assuming we are getting at least decent quality products, but are in fact getting the end of a less than appetizing industrial food chain prodded on by government subsidies and the idea that consumers want it now and want it cheap. Pollan states,

“To go from the chicken (Gallus gallus) to the Chicken McNugget is to leave the world in a journey of forgetting that could hardly be more costly, not only in terms of the animal’s pain but in our pleasure, too. But forgetting, or not knowing, is what the industrial food chain is all about, the principal reason it is so opaque, for if we see what lies on the far side of the increasingly high walls of our industrial agriculture, we would surely change the way we eat” (10-11).

Pollan does present rising alternatives to the pervasive industrial food chain. Most interesting are “postindustrial” farms that aim to return animals to living and eating the way they were intended, most notably on grass pastures (Most animals in industrial systems are fed corn which is contrary to all of their natural eating habits and kept in overpopulated corrals or cages). These farms also adhere to a policy of produce locally and sell locally. This is food at its purest -something I’m not entirely sure my generation has really experienced. For local farms like this in your area, you can visit http://www.eatwild.com/.
My brief blurb in no way does justice to what has been one of the most illuminating books I have read in some years. For something that is so central to our health and culture, not to mention our enjoyment, we have little idea of what is really on our plates.

ringing the opening bell

Not that I am expecting a blur of excitement in this New Year, but I feel hopeful that 2008 will be exponentially better than its prior. I don't mean to knock 2007 either because it did have its moments after all -they were just few and far between.

This year does mark me getting off my ass and doing what I should have done two years ago. I am finally working towards grad school by taking Art History classes at IUPUI. Most of my posts will be marked by various works of art through all periods of time. Like Geogia O'Keefe's Radiator Building -Night, New York pictured at right.

I figured having my own blog might make it possible to keep track of what is happening in 2008, in my life and in the news.