Being born back into the world, Breathing just to Breathe Again.

The sound of travel

admin — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 14:54:58 +0000

Traveling evokes so many different feelings, such as excitement, nervousness and self-discovery. Is there a certain artist or type of music that you could play right now that would bring back those feelings? When I turn on certain music I will always remember details of my travels that I may have otherwise forgotten. There is just something about music that opens up your mind to new experiences. It’s almost like putting your mind on a temporary diet from the normal chaos and stress of life. Music gives me the ability to better remember the feeling of driving through the beautiful, green German countryside on a sunny day.

Tim Hecker

Keith Fullerton Whitman

Digesting Each Candidate’s Portions

admin — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 04:01:02 +0000

So this post was initially going to be about the occasional awkwardness of reading nutrition labels, while shopping at the grocery store. That was a fairly lame idea, so it can be my next post. Anyways, I was watching the primaries on TV. Want to know what I was doing during the last primaries? I”m not sure, but it was certainly more interesting than watching the primaries. Anyways, I thought it would be interesting to try and find out what the candidates’ favorite foods were. For nostalgia, I’m going to include a picture of a bakery in Cologne, Germany that has some of the best food I’ve ever tasted.

Barack Obama- Favorite Food: Italian Fiesta Pizzeria in Hyde Park, Chicago IL. Source: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_Barack_Obama’s_favorite_food

Hillary Clinton- Favorite food to cook: “I’m a lousy cook, but I make pretty good soft scrambled eggs.” Source: http://www.myspace.com/hillaryclinton

John McCain- Favorite Food: Shrimp, and pizza topped with pepperoni and onions. Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-1030mccainoct30,1,5831671.story

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Identity Crisis

admin — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 02:11:37 +0000

Yesterday, I made a trip to the grocery to buy some necessary items to replenish my barren cupboards and starving refrigerator shelves. I happened to walk through the frozen food section. I usually don’t buy anything in this section, but a few things caught my eye. Potato and broccoli pancakes. I cooked them last night and they were delicious. I highly recommend them because they are apparently healthy too. Anyway, everything was fine until I saw these veggie burgers that were made to look like hamburgers. For some reason, I felt sick to my stomach at this site. Not because they were veggie burgers, but because they were made to look like real hamburgers. This utterly confused me. I know tofu can be prepared to reflect different animals (ie: tofurkey), which is fine with me. However, my observation was of a different nature. Why is a veggie burger trying to be a hamburger? Shouldn’t a veggie burger be a veggie burger? Are people only choosing to eat the veggie looking hamburgers because they taste or look like real hamburgers? I guess that would make at least some sense. However, I’m not familiar with any other culture that prepares (molds) one food into another food because it is healthier. I would much rather eat a regular veggie burger, or god forbid vegetables that were prepared to not mimic meat. If you dislike eating meat, than why would you want to eat a food that mimics it? Of course, this could all just be a huge marketing ploy to gently woo people off meat onto something supposedly healthier. It’s like the training wheels theory of healthy eating. I’m not necessarily opposed to this, but just feel somewhat confused. Anyway, I can go a few weeks on a vegetarian diet (eating non hamburger looking veggie burgers), but a craving starts to set in for a nice juicy cheeseburger. I won’t be shopping in the frozen foods section when that craving sets in.

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Light up, light up….

admin — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 20:02:42 +0000

I ignore things that I don’t want to deal with in life. Friends, family, love interests, work, etc. I tell other ppl they should deal with their problems, but then I sometimes ignore my own. Travel is an extension of my tendency to ignore things. At one point you think that traveling will give you some sort of cure to all life’s problems. I once read a story about a climber who was going through a divorce and financial troubles, but decided to free climb an impossible cliff face. He knew that it wasn’t going to solve any of his problems or magically make everything disappear when he returned back to the Earth. In fact, it could have easily killed him had he not been so determined he could do it. Why do something if it doesn’t solve your problems? I think everyone has done some soul searching to find the answer to this question in their lives. However, we live in a culture that embraces quick fixes to everything. It’s this sort of thinking that makes me forget that other ppl struggle in the same ways I do. I often times refer to large groups of people or countries, as having certain qualities or behaviors. In reality, I have no idea what their way of life is like. It’s just an excuse for me not to understand them. When I look at someone as an individual, I am forced to at least examine who they are and maybe how they got to be that way. If I can’t look into someone else’s life, culture and values for just a moment, then I am truly blind. I will never have the ability to understand myself and they will not have the chance to understand me. This is partly what brought me to Quito, Ecuador. Not to solve my problems, but to discover them.

Here is my story…

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Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I’ll be right beside you dear

-Snow Patrol

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A Big Hard Sun….

admin — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:07:32 +0000

I am very excited to be journeying out into the blogging world to record my thoughts/experiences on food, travel and life. In addition, I would like to provide any interesting stories that are developing in my own kitchen at home. I can’t promise anything too exciting, except for my own honesty and perspectives on things. Please feel free to comment on anything said or unsaid. That is all for now. Thanks for visiting!

“There’s a big
a big hard sun
beating on the big people
in the big hard world”

-Eddie Vedder

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