Grow Food Movement

Michael Pollan, who wrote The Omnivore's Dilemma, wrote an article in the New York Times that I think is worth reading.

It's challenging, though. Maybe we can feel okay about buying carbon offsets for the road trip... or maybe we should be planning a bike trip?

Dads, Donuts, Directions

Georgia's preschool held an event they called "Dads and Donuts" last Friday. I am neither, but I got to go anyway, because Georgia's real dad had something important to do and couldn't skip. I, on the other hand, am called "Bum" for a reason.

And so I got a donut, and also I got to talk to Georgia all the way to her school because I got to drive her, and I got to hold her hand while we walked in, and we got to sit in the Reading Center for a long time. At first I called it a library, but a kid named Aidan corrected me, although what he actually said it was was a "Weeding Centow." Then I looked around and there were no other "dads" - just kids and amused-seeming teachers. Georgia was still laughing at all the pictures of herself in the class's album. So it was past time to go. And so I went. And I got this card:



(They're donuts.)

Also wanted to mention that I am maybe going to start working for a City Councilmember. But I will probably only work for her for a month or so, so that we can still go on the road trip as planned. I will write again about this after I meet with them.

Jelly Burger

According to an article I read recently, human beings don't do very well at making big, complicated decisions. It was a while ago, but I think the article mentioned picking a college and choosing a mate as examples, and I assume my careerist ponderings would fit the bill.

The point, as I understood it, was that the rational parts of our brains, all too often ignored in any case, are limited in their processing power. Decisions with too many factors just overwhelm them. So, all of those things that go into a college "fit," like location and prestige and cost and whatever else... apparently our brains can only process a handful of those at any one time.

So we can either make the decision rationally but ignoring the vast majority of the factors. Or we can make it based on intuition, and use our rational parts to justify that decision after the fact. The second one is obviously way more fun and also way more popular. But actually, we don't necessarily notice that we've shut down the rational process.

So once you read this article, you have to ask yourself what the heck you're thinking, trying to design a rational process for making a decision about what to do with your working life. It's not like designing a training program so you can run a marathon... apparently it's more like designing a training program so you can run to the moon.

Anyway, I've been asking everyone for their thoughts on the topic of "people who make a difference / make the world a better place / whatever," and I might as well ask you, too, Dear Internet. What job or career plan would you recommend to someone who, for the sake of discussion, is only concerned with making the most positive difference possible?

Now that we've got all that out of the way, it's time for the real point of the post:



The Purple Cow


I never saw a PURPLE COW,
I never HOPE to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather SEE than BE one!



The Purple Cow: Suite


Ah, yes, I wrote the "Purple Cow"--
I'm Sorry, now, I wrote it;
But I can tell you Anyhow
I'll Kill you if you Quote it!


Gelett Burgess
(1866-1951)

Unseat a Heart

Dear Readers,

I'll see if I can't reestablish something like a rhythm here. Unusually, I have a few things to report in addition to my existential wanderings and banal schadenfreude.

For instance: our song, "Chemistry," available over on the right, is going to be on a promotional CD called the Chill Out Acoustic Compilation, put together by some people who call themselves Quickstar Productions. You can listen to their previous efforts here - it seems like they produce an album of this sort every year or so (in addition to offerings in other styles).

We aren't completely sure of what to make of it. We got in touch with one person from a previous edition, Chelsea Carter, who we thought was good and who very kindly filled us in on her experience with Quickstar.

She, like us, seems unsure what to make of it. She felt like she was fairly treated and everything. So I guess we'll see what happens - and at least it was nice of Quickstar to want to include us. If you're interested in owning one of these, drop us a line and we'll send you one once they're ready. They'll be on iTunes, too.

In other news, Abbie is really good at painting. So far she specializes in fruit.

And finally, the road trip is 58 days away. Can you believe it? We can't.

Here's a little poem for you.



Romantics
Johannes Brahms and Clara Schumann


The modern biographers worry
"how far it went," their tender friendship.
They wonder just what it means
when he writes he thinks of her constantly,
his guardian angel, beloved friend.
The modern biographers ask
the rude, irrelevant question
of our age, as if the event
of two bodies meshing together
establishes the degree of love,
forgetting how softly Eros walked
in the nineteenth century, how a hand
held overlong or a gaze anchored
in someone's eyes could unseat a heart,
and nuances of address not known
in our egalitarian language
could make the redolent air
tremble and shimmer with the heat
of possibility. Each time I hear
the Intermezzi, sad
and lavish in their tenderness,
I imagine the two of them
sitting in a garden
among late-blooming roses
and dark cascades of leaves,
letting the landscape speak for them,
leaving us nothing to overhear.


Lisel Mueller

long post no time

dear readers,

or maybe there are none of you anymore,

i am sorry for the long hiatus. rather than give an excuse, i'll just leave it at the apology, and mention briefly that there's a clean, final version of "chemistry" over on the right, which we hope you'll enjoy. and we'd love to hear what you think of it.

the road trip is almost upon us. we've got an itinerary thanks to abbie's hard work, and we're planning to email it out this weekend.

more news to come tomorrow. for real. meanwhile, enjoy this little ditty from good ol' emily:


It was given to me by the Gods -
When I was a little Girl -
They give us Presents most - you know -
When we are new - and small.
I kept it in my Hand -
I never put it down -
I did not dare to eat - or sleep -
For fear it would be gone -
I heard such words as "Rich" -
When hurrying to school -
From lips at Corners of the Streets -
And wrestled with a smile.
Rich! 'Twas Myself - was rich -
To take the name of Gold -
And Gold to own - in solid Bars -
The Difference - made me bold -


Emily Dickinson (# 455)