Shouting Into the Void

Thank God for Frontline - and Ramita Navai

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:34:01 -0800

Thank God for Frontline - and Ramita Navai:

This is the most arresting and disturbing piece of reporting I’ve seen in a while. Reporter Ramina Navai actually goes where most fear to tread, imbedding herself with the Syrian opposition to expose the unspeakably brutal atrocities exacted upon the Syrian people by their leader Bashar Al-Assad and his regime. (The lengths they go to hide the identities of the participants, as in the photo above, is indicative of just how real the threat to protesters is.)

If you care at all about international politics and policy, human rights, or humans at all, you need to watch this (you can watch the full episode via the link). The UN estimates that 3,000 people, including many children, have already died, and countless more have been wounded. Syria’s opposition is beginning to talk about armed rebellion as the only way to stop the massacre, prompting what will most likely turn into a civil war that could have disastrous implications for the entire region. Both the humanitarian and political implications are undeniable and the silence from the international community are deafening.

2011 Election Returns: A Drop in the Bucket, But a Drop None the Less

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:00:39 -0800

I’m excited to announce positive outcomes in three of the most important ballot issues of this election year: Ohio voted to overturn a ban on the ability of public sector unions to collectively bargain, Mississippi rejected the most brazen and dangerous threat to reproductive rights we’ve seen in a while, and here in Maine we passed a people’s referendum renouncing legislation ending same-day voter registration.

In a time when good news is hard to find, and hope for sanity in politics is a scarce commodity, I have to say that these results - along with the continued momentum of the Occupy movements is kinda heartening, even to this cynical soul. As progressives, we should savor the moment, but we need to keep prodding. We need to hold President Obama accountable for taking these drips and drops of hope for a more rational discourse, a stronger social safety net that truly supports the most vulnerable among us, and fiscal and economic policies that will have a real effect in dismantling the consolidation of wealth and power and giving everyone the opportunity for a meaningful livelihood, and creating a groundswell. A groundswell, focused not the people (already in progress), but among the lawmakers and those who have actual power to implement policy. What we need is to turn on the faucet to a deluge of seemingly radical but ultimately practical measures that put people back to work with a living wage, protect consumers and hold business accountable for their role in getting us to where we are, and make sure people have the resources to fulfill basic human needs to food, shelter, and healthcare.

Hold on Penguins, Help is on the Way!

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:17:25 -0800

After reading about the plight of New Zealand’s penguins that fell victim to a recent oil spill and their need for sweaters. Yes, you read that right, penguins need sweaters. Apparently oil impedes the birds ability to insulate themselves and they have a tendency to nibble at their feathers, which only exacerbates the problem. And in order to solve the problem, some people came up with a creative and insanely cute solution: penguin sweaters, which both provide insulation and keep the nibbling to a minimum, and a New Zealand yarn shop created a pattern and put out a call for submissions. Of course, as soon as I heard about this I enlisted my mom, who’s both a knitting enthusiast and has a special affinity for NZ after visiting while I was living there for study abroad in college. She took up the call, and responded with this ranbow-tastic piece:

Once on the penguin, it should look something like this (warning the following images may cause overload in the brain’s cuteness receptors):

Prime Suspect: Accept No Imitations

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:15:00 -0700

I tried really hard not to prejudge NBC’s adaptation of Prime Suspect, and held out hope that it wouldn’t be Law & Order-ized, but of course, depressingly true to form, no such luck. The British original is, dare I say it, one of the best series ever on television (it did win Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and a Peabody) - definitely the best show ever on TV with a female lead. Jane Tennison (played by an indomitable Helen Mirren), is the original “complicated” female lead, the archetype for the slew of Marry Botwins and Nurse Jackies, who are now almost ubiquitous. The series, which first aired in ‘91 follows Jane’s career as she navigates the “old boys” network, having to prove herself as the sole female detective in The Met police force.

Besides just being a great mystery series, Prime Suspect, most of which was written by a woman and utilized a female consultant (one of only four women in the Met when the series aired), allowed Jane’s character to be disarmingly real and complex without being obvious or melodramatic. In her sensible shoes, drab outfits, and no-nonsense coif Jane definitely has an edge and some very human demons (she has a hard time relating to children, an affair with a married superior, an interracial tryst with a younger colleague, a slow decline into alcoholism, and endures one of the most refreshingly unapologetic depictions of abortion I’ve seen on TV) and while she is the main character, the show isn’t about Tennison and the statements it makes never get in the way of the story lines.

So, if you want to watch a Prime Suspect with some actual integrity, I highly recommend you go straight to the source and check out the original. But, in the immortal words of Levar Burton, “Don’t take my word for it”.

In Which I Learn the Ancestral Pie Crust Recipe and Make a...

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 18:49:23 -0700

the near-perfect pie, in all it's glory

Rocky Ridge Orchard, Bowdoin, Maine

proof that I actually pick them apples

so many apples!

lard-alicious

super neat ice-water filled rolling pin

rollin' out the dough

ltd.edition Swan Isand Designs pie plate

almost there...

oven ready

In Which I Learn the Ancestral Pie Crust Recipe and Make a Near-Perfect Apple Pie

A couple weeks ago my mom and I took part in one of my favorite New England fall rituals: apple picking. We got a bit carried away, ending up with at least 30 lbs of apples. Of course, the first order of business was an apple pie - the perfect opportunity to finally learn how to make my Great-Grandma Schneider’s pie crust, having been regaled with tales of it’s flaky, melt-in-your-mouth goodness for so many years. The pie construction was actually quite a family affair, utilizing a really cool hollow glass rolling pin you fill with ice water (courtesy of my paternal grandmother), and a pie plate made by Swan Island Designs, the pottery business my dad used to own.

According to Great-Grandma Schneider, the keys to making a delectable and ultra-flaky pie crust are: very cold water, handling the dough as little as possible, and using the highest ratio of fat possible: lard. We used the basic Joy of Cooking apple pie recipe for the filling. I have to say, that it was pretty effing near-perfect. The crust was, indeed, melt-in-your-mouth and ultra-flaky. (Thanks lard!) And cooked perfectly. And while I do say so myself, I did had independent verification, to validate my assessment.

We picked sooooo many apples we still have some left and we’re trying to figure out what to do with them. So far, we’ve produced:

Straight-up Applesauce (apples, cinnamon, and just a touch of brown sugar)

Apple butter (x2) (Joy of Cooking)

Rosemary and Brown Butter Applesauce

Apple Spice Cake with/Brown Sugar Glaze

French Apple Tart (crust from scratch)

The Assult on Sufferage

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:29:00 -0700

Poll taxes! ID requirements! Limited access to polls, oh my! Election day is fast approaching, time to take stock the unprecedented ways in which our voting rights have degraded over the past year.

What better place to start than close to home, in the great state of Maine. I used to brag about Maine’s voting laws to my fellow poli-sci wonks: day-of registration, early voting, no prohibition on the currently/formerly incarcerated, no ID requirements. From Patrick Caldwell’s excellent American Prospect article “Who Stole the Election”:

Most states struggle to get citizens to the polls; national turnout for a presidential election hasn’t topped 60 percent since 1968, and turnout for midterm elections hovers in the 30s. That puts the United States far below the participation level in other Western democracies. Yet for the past four decades, Maine has stood apart. With an array of regulations that encourage voting—the state has allowed voters to register on Election Day since 1973—Maine consistently places among the top five states for turnout. Seventy-two percent of the eligible population voted in 2008 when Barack Obama carried the state.

But alas, my confidence in my states commitment to democracy and fairness have been severely eroded, thanks to a bill paid for by big money provided by out of state Tea Party-crashers, and signed by our illustrious Governor LePage in June; same-day registration and early voting are no more, and ID requirements are in place.

More than the environmental deregulation, more than the attack on Maine’s social safety-net and service providers - even more than the removal of the mural from the lobby of Maine’s Department of Labor, these new voting restrictions signal a pernicious and fundamental shift in the nature of Maine politics. Once heralded as a bastion of New England pragmatism, over the past few years Maine has become less and less insulated from the nationalized campaigns and “big money” influences, and general shift to the right, of contemporary American politics as usual. The 2009 ballot initiative to repeal Maine’s passage of marriage equality, whose “Yes on 1” campaign had its funding and strategy provided by the National Organization for Marriage Equality. Enter the Koch Brothers, David and Charles, scions of Koch Industries, the largest privately owned company in the US, who are infamous for their anti-union, anti-Social Security, and questionable business practices, and arguably representing the biggest threat to American democracy.

Not only was the Kotch Bros. monetary and political influence instrumental in getting LePage elected in 2010 as part of a larger ultra-conservative and Tea Party strategy of leverage the Citizens United decision into transnational “super PACs” in order to funnel money to get their candidates elected in numerous elections across the country, they’re cornerstone donor for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), who make it their business to undermine the Voting Rights Act of 1965, thereby eroding American’s most basic rights. Again, from Patrick Caldwell’s article:

The push against voting rights in Maine is just one example of the most direct assault on ballot access since the Jim Crow era. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the influential corporate-funded group that writes model bills for Republican state legislators, has pushed Republicans across the country to impose new restrictions on voting and to overturn progressive laws like Maine’s. “I don’t want everybody to vote,” ALEC co-founder Paul Weyrich said three decades ago. “As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.”

Unfortunately, ALEC’s reach is broad, Maine is far from the only state that is experiencing serious curtailments in access to polls. 19 laws were passed and 2 executive orders that were issued in 14 states this year, (all except one passed by Republican lawmakers) and a new study by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law found that they “could make it significantly harder for more than five million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012.” Of course the Republican party line is that these regulations are necessary to prevent voter fraud, but many experts liken the new restrictions, especially those regarding ID requirements as modern day poll-taxes (legislation in Texas and South Carolina has to be approved by the Dept. of Justice because of those states’ history of minority-voter suppression).

Luckily, Mainers are smart enough to realize what’s really at stake. To do your part, make sure you’re registered, and vote Yes on 1 (not to be confused with 2009’s ballot question #1), a citizens initiative to repeal the attack on our voting rights.

Taylor Gruman's Seattle: Pork, Pork... and More Pork

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:14:00 -0700

I had the particular pleasure of spending last weekend in Seattle with my one of my very best friends and favorite foodies, one Mr. Taylor Gruman, who gave me an amazing culinary tour of some of the best Seattle has to offer.

Spinasse

I’m pretty sure we consumed multiple pigs worth of pork dishes over the weekend, beginning at the amazing Italian restaurant Cacina Spinasse. We started out with prosciutto and peaches with a balsamic-based sauce. Can you really go wrong with prosciutto and fruit? I’m pretty sure the answer is no, but this was elevated to a whole new level of awesome. Next up: sliced cold pork loin with a tuna sauce. I have to say I was slightly skeptical, but it actually makes for a really interesting and tasty dish. Then it was on to an egg-based pasta called tarjarin topped with butter and sage and an insane ragu (pictured below). It made it into NY Mag’s Grub Street blog posting titled “Pasta Porn 101”, and it’s definitely not far off - I practically had a foodgasm.

We moved on to the main course, and yet more pork. I had the pork belly with diced pickled apples and baby potatoes and it was spectacular - like I said, I’m a sucker for fruit and meat. Gruman had the pork shoulder with cucumber, of course it was also delicious. But the highlight may have been the dessert: goat cheese mouse with ginger and caramelized puff pastry. It was delicate and clean with a very slight tangy edge; delectable but not too sweet. De-lish! The perfect ending to a near-perfect meal.

Revel

Luckily we made it just in the nick of time to catch lunch. The first thing you need to know is that the major decoration is several large oil portraits of none other than Hulk Hogan, Rowdy Piper, and Ken Griffy Jr. The second, is that Revel is owned by a husband and wife duo of Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi. The food, while AMAZING was hard to describe as a genre, so I’ll let them do it (from their website):

Rachel’s Korean heritage informs her flavors through her impeccable training in classic French technique. Seif, raised in Chicago, and trained in Portland, Ore. brings a distinctly American flavor to the palate, balancing and complementing his wife both in the kitchen and at home.

Because I trust him implicitly in all matters culinary, I let Gruman do the choosing, and he definitely didn’t fail. We started with the corned lamb, arugula, and spicy nuoc cham salad, tender and just enough spice to make it interesting without over powering. Then on to the smoked pork belly, sauerkraut, sweet chili noodles, and the short rib, shallot, scallion dumplings - I swear they actually melted in my mouth, so much butter goodness. I also had the blueberry tarragon soda which, aside from being very pretty, was as light and crisp as it sounds, a lot of flavor without any cloying sweetness. Then, just when we thought we were done, chef Seif himself stopped by to say “hi” to Gruman (who, it turns out is something of a scion in the Seattle restaurant scene, thanks to his mom, Lissa Gruman, who’s PR firm reps some of the best restaurants in town, including Revel and Spinasse). Seif is one of those chefs who just exudes an intense love of food and his craft, which is so great to see. Of course, he was kind enough to send us out two of the best desserts I’ve ever had, chocolate bread pudding with caramelized apple and caramel sauce, and caramelized pear and ginger ice cream, candied fennel, and a shortbread cookie. My taste buds just about shorted out from excitement. By the end I was in a total daze of food-enduced euphoria. So there you have it.

corned lamb salad

blueberry tarragon soda

Harvest Vine

The last stop on the tour, literally the last thing I did before I was off to the airport, was The Harvest Vine, a Basque-inspired restaurant with one of the most beautiful open kitchens I’ve seen mostly due to the copper overlay in the bar to compliment the copper pots hanging from the ceiling. I really wish I had a photo - I always get so into the food, I need to remind myself to take more pictures… Unfortunately I had double food-blogging fail and also forgot to write down the names of the dishes we had, and of course they’ve since changed the menu for Seattle Restaurant Week, so you’ll have to bare with me. Let’s see… first up we had hot peppers sauteed in olive oil and sea salt. I’m not a huge pepper fan, but these were tasty little buggers. Something about the sea salt tempered the heat but still let the flavor out - I did have a couple that were hotter than the rest, but still not so hot that it overwhelmed the taste. And then there was cheese. Lots of yummy Spanish cheese with various accoutrements, my favorite of which was a candied squash preserve.

The torilla Espanola (egg wrapped with serrrano ham, pictured above) was a good, although we all agreed it could have had a little more kick - would have been great as a brunch item. After that we moved on to scallops with jamon foam, pork with potatoes, and my personal favorite of the evening: thin slices of cold smoked duck breast served with tomato jam. It was light and juicy and the the tomato jam added just enough acid to cut through the fat.

For dessert we chose the chocolate walnut tart (above), the perfect ending to a pretty near-perfect weekend.

Kitsap Peninsula As if chocolate and food weren’t enough,...

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 20:00:18 -0700

Hobbit house!

Taylor Gruman, lumber jack

crossing the street is serious business

Ferry ride from Fontleroy to Southworth

Kitsap Peninsula

As if chocolate and food weren’t enough, I also got to see some of the sites outside the city, including a jaunt out to the beautiful and relaxing Kitsap Peninsula. I got to partake of Washington’s ferry system (the most extensive in the country), and some great views thanks to the wonderful weather I brought with me from SF (you’re welcome WA).

Abi, Gruman, and the Chocolate Factory One of the best parts of...

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:32:16 -0700

this is where the magic happens

our very own Willy Wonka

who says hairnets aren't sexy

how greatness is born

beans to bars

time to make the truffles!

one last step, and...

ta da! tastiness realized.

Abi, Gruman, and the Chocolate Factory

One of the best parts of my trip to Seattle was getting to tour the Theo chocolate company, America’s only bar to bean chocolate company. While most chocolate makers buy already processed coco, Theo sources and process their own beans and ingredients, all of which are organic and fair trade… and really effing delicious.

BAKLAVA! The other day I decided to take a stab at making one of...

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 21:37:00 -0700

believe me, it's as tasty as it looks.

making the syrup, w/plenty of citrus

the 3-nut mixture

prepping for assembly

before...

...and after!

BAKLAVA!

The other day I decided to take a stab at making one of my favorite desserts of all time: baklava, a Turkish dish made of filo dough, nuts, honey… and just a little butter. Fun fact: baklava is one of the oldest desserts still consumed today. If you’ve never had it, you are definitely missing out (if you’re in NYC I suggest you check out Damascus Bakery in Brooklyn, or Pasha on the UWS).

I used this recipe from epicurious.com, which I chose for the addition of citrus in the syrup. I basically followed it as written, except that I used a combo of walnuts, almonds, and pistachios (what can I say, I’m nuts about nuts!) and added in a little powdered ginger (I also ended up using far less butter than the recipe called for). I served it with vanilla fro-yo, but I’ve also had it with whipped cream, which was equally delicious.

It actually ended up being less complicated than I expected, there are just a lot of steps - also make sure to take note of the 8hrs of marinating time while it soaks up the syrup after baking. Oh, and remember that frozen filo dough takes FOR EVER to thaw and there’s really no safe way to defrost it quickly. (I almost screwed myself on this point, luckily I got to Whole Foods super early and the re-stock hadn’t actually had a chance to freeze yet!)

Economics Anonymous

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:39:40 -0700

The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. Today we avoided yet another shutdown - how many have there been, 3? I’m loosing count. But yet again, we’ve come to the brink simply to put off any actual decision making. It seems like we’ve reached the point where something’s gotta give. Like the wealthy, enabling parent of an adult-child in the throws of addiction, all the last minute bailouts, deferring of deadlines and backroom ballyhoo is doing more harm than good. Of course most of us would rather we weren’t in this position, but unfortunately, this is where we find ourselves and as anyone whose dealt with a non-functioning family member can tell you, the continued pattern of enabling only leads to resentment and distrust. This, as the Times “Economix” blog pointed out today, is a seriously pervasive issue for the American people, and it’s only getting worse. According to Gallup:

82% of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job.

69% say they have little or no confidence in the legislative branch of government, an all-time high and up from 63% in 2010.

57% have little or no confidence in the federal government to solve domestic problems, exceeding the previous high of 53% recorded in 2010 and well exceeding the 43% who have little or no confidence in the government to solve international problems.

53% have little or no confidence in the men and women who seek or hold elected office.

No one wants to feel like they can’t trust something their supposed to be able to rely on, or the people who are supposed to represent them and protect their interests. No one wants to see something they invest in fail. Watching someone or something hit rock bottom is never easy, however, sometimes it’s necessary for recovery.

The problem with shutdown, of course, is that it the real impact and the true pain of failure would be exacted upon those people who are least equipped and most undeserving. In the past couple of weeks we’ve seen a sharp turn towards a double dip that even the most Pollyannaish economists are having a hard time ignoring: we the national poverty rate has risen to 15%, employment is stalling out, and just today we learned that US median income has dropped in 35 states, seven of which saw a drop of at least 5%, with the national average dipping 2.2%. While it sucks to consider that a goverment shutdown would almost certainly have the most negative impact on these stats and the actual people represented by the numbers, rather than those with the power to do anything about it, perhaps it would actually force a popular push-back that’s strong enough to truly force the government into rehab.

Then again, I wonder if, in this current environment in which we are experiencing such an intense combination of polarization, willful delusion and straight up fear, anything short of impending physical doom (read: asteroid falling to earth) could get us galvanized in any sort of meaningful way. But obviously the status quo and the literal insanity of repeatedly putting off the big decisions somehow expecting that “this time it’s going to be different, I swear” aren’t getting us anywhere. Perhaps it’s time to try something different?

Zucchini-Pumpkin Bread with Walnuts and Chocolate Chips: Super...

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 22:36:00 -0700

Walnuts direct from Talmage, CA

Pumpkin courtesy of Paula, San Rafael

Pureeing pumpking

Zucchini from Sonoma

super scratch

Ta da!

Zucchini-Pumpkin Bread with Walnuts and Chocolate Chips: Super Local, and Very Much from Scratch

We ended up with a pumpkin from my roomate’s mom’s garden in San Rafael and wallnuts from her grandmother’s farm in Mendocino County, and a Zucchini from our friend Erica’s sister’s farm in Sonoma which I decided to turn into a pretty decadent quick bread. Making it from ultra scratch (I shelled all the walnuts and made fresh pumpkin puree by hand) was really fun and satisfying, but also very time consuming. The entire process from shelling to baking took about 5 hours (but that is counting a quick jaunt to the corner store for some more sugar). I basically just followed this recipe from Allrecipes.com, using 1/2 a cup less sugar and fresh pumpkin, and adding chocolate chips, powdered ginger and allspice. Tasty!

Untruths without Consequences

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 22:11:33 -0700

Truth and politics have always had an uneasy relationship, but these days it seems that a certain political reality and actual reality are practically estranged (see: death panels). According to PolitFact’s Truth-O-Meter, most of the statements in last night’s debate rated “mostly-false” to “pants on fire”. And what’s worse, as illustrated by Rick Perry’s egregious mischaracterization of Galileo’s plight last night, is this tenuous relationship is now spreading to historic al record. This comfort with boldly wearing one’s ignorance as a badge of honor is galling. Michelle Bachman, history’s current Public Enemy Number One, has gaffed on some of the country’s most sacred memories, from the state where the Revolutionary War began, to Elvis. And it’s not just Bachman. Remember Palin’s gaffe about Africa or even back to Bush’s bragging about not reading the newspapers and frequent mispronunciations. How can a group of people who so publicly flaunt the truth and so unabashedly get things wrong so consistently, ever believe they could successfully lead the free world? The fact that people are willing to forgive mixing up Concord, NH with Concord, MA isn’t as bad as the fact that she may genuinely not have known:

Told of the congresswoman’s line, another prominent New Hampshire Republican asked: “Seriously, the real question is whether she knows she (got it wrong), I suspect not.” [Politico]

This willful ignorance goes well beyond a simple rejection of intellectualism, and it is as embarrassing as it is scary. It’s even more frighting that no one seems interested in holding them accountable, beyond a few wonky fact checkers and snarky memes.
Obama better get his house in order, because with Perry still in the lead - a lead that seems to grow the crazier his proclamations become, this is not a time to mess around.

.

Adventure to Santa Cruz: The Sights. Took a little trip down the...

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 15:30:00 -0700

Pacifica Pier

view from the pier

the Princeton-by-the-Sea IPA: tasty

Half-Moon Bay marina

slightly diffrent coastline than ME...

sooooo pretty

ME lobster in Cali - love it.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

had the Sacrilious Ale, also very good

good beer, extra points for the flag

Adventure to Santa Cruz: The Sights.

Took a little trip down the coast on Monday, luckily the weather cooperated. Definitely a different vista than the coastline I’m used to. Saw the sights, checked out some micro-breweries: good day.

Adventure to Santa Cruz: The Strawberries On the way back to SF...

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 15:30:00 -0700

touring bikes are an excellent omen

best sign ever.

Adventure to Santa Cruz: The Strawberries

On the way back to SF we happened upon the magical place that is Swanton’s Strawberry Farm, which in addition to being organic and unionized is extremely bike friendly - and helmet promoting! Plus, I learned that there’s something called an olallieberry, which is apparently a cross between a loganberry and a youngberry. I definitely regret not getting a chocolate covered strawberry, but the strawberry/olallieberry jam I picked up is amazing.

Sunday in Dolores Park … and ice cream. My friend Lena...

Sun, 28 Aug 2011 21:43:00 -0700

Dolores Park: The McCarren of SF

Bi-Rite Creamery line around the block

I reccommend the giner

Sunday in Dolores Park … and ice cream. My friend Lena took me on my first foray to Dolores Park, which is the place to be on summery weekend days in San Francisco. Afterward, we stopped by Bi-Rite Creamy on 18th and Dolores. There’s always a line, sometimes around the block (especially on beautiful days like today), and Lena wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I had the ginger (glad to see they have my favorite), it was good (a little too sweet for my taste) but not sure it’s really worth the wait.

Anonymous BART protest 8/22/11

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 23:53:15 -0700

the lawyer and the ararchist

SFPD Stole my X-mas Gifts

Anonymous BART protest 8/22/11

This is What Democracy Looks Like?

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 23:53:04 -0700

Just back from losing my San-Francisco-protest-scene virginity. It was not too rough and engaging enough to keep my interest. This particular demonstration ironically protested the premption of a protest that was preempted by BART police using the same cell-blocking technology as Scotland Yard used in the London riots, but was originally planned response to the fatal shooting of Charles Hill, incident of BART police fatally shooting an unarmed person. Unfortunately, it played too close to stereotype.

The marched started at the Convention Center/UN Square and progressed toward City Hall. I got there just as the action was getting underway, so I was able to get in up front - it also helped that the crowd wasn’t that large. I’ve never been good at guessing things like this but I’d estimate the crowd was around 150 people at its largest (no kidding, there were probably two photogs for every protester).

True to form, all the factions sent their reps: the white-boy anarchists in their black skinny jeans and black bandanas obscuring their faces (yearning for the day when they will have done something provocative enough to actually need it), the starry-eyed Berkley freshman, the old die-hard lefty protesters who will come out for whatever, and the randoms who come out for a forum to showcase issues all their own (i.e. naked guy with lunchbox and tiny DIY sign reading “no cell service no safety”). This protest also featured the added spectacle of a bevvy of Anonymous “followers” clad in masks.

Another frustrating issue was the unfortunate fact that the intra-protest drama distracted from the actual reason for being there. Apparent by the abundant of confusion and half-heated yelling of too-familiar slogans. One particularly absurd moment involved dueling megaphones. A white-boy anarchist was yelling a chant of “How do you spell ‘murder’?!” into his megaphone (the appropriate crowd response being “B-A-R-T”). Followed by one of the die-hard lefties responding yelling, “You know how you spell ‘murder’? G-A-N-G-S!” into her megaphone. The debate continued with his megaphoned reply of “SFPD is the biggest gang around!”

Once we made it back to the Civic Center part of the group was confronted by one particularly angry white-boy anarchist who began questioning, “why are you moving away from the city’s center? You can just occupy instead of march.” This is when things started to change. The majority of the protest went with “we want a peaceful march with no police interaction.” However, enough of the crowd went with “occupy” and were able to successfully block Market St. (which, of course, drew the police post haste). After at least four white-boy anarchists arrested there was a small skirmish in which a police motorcycle got overturned, but that was about it for civil disobedience.

Probably the saddest thing about it were the sentiment issues I care about (access to internet and cellular infrastructure, protecting the right to use electronic communication, as well as curbing misuse of firearms by police and holding them accountable for harming unarmed citizens) reduced to performance politics - a sign protesting the closing of the BART restrooms saying “I Need to Pee.” Which felt similarly to watching the feather-boaed Mayoral debate I went to last week. I wonder if that’s a bi-product of having a city that’s so politically homogenous? People can be complacent with their expression of politics because there is no real viable opposition. While NY reads progressive and staunchly democratic nationally, its internal state and city politics are very much at play. I don’t get that sense of gravity or urgency, no obvious talk of descent within SF’s local vox populi.

And applied to the global context of protests we find ourselves presently, it’s a pretty bleak visage, especially in light of yesterday ‘s news from Libya. In the countries of the “Arab Spring,” you saw people using technology to organize themselves in order to foment an actual uprising for purposes that were both deeply personal and simultaneously larger than themselves. In the “developed” world we see the same technologies used to riot in the UK (which while understandable were far more destructive than they were subversive) for nothing more constructive than getting together to walk and yell together here in the US. I was disappointed that the opportunity to occupy a BART station was overruled - it really felt like people just didn’t have it in them. It seems like something as invasive and punitive as a police force cutting out cell service in order to frustrate a group of people exercising their constitutional right to assemble should warrant some real rabble rousing with actual consequences. Note to self: we need to get on a new form of descent… maybe something will result from the growing pains of figuring out how to successfully combine street and electronic disobedience.

All of that being said, I’m definitely glad for the experience and I learned a very important lesson: a pen on a lanyard, while horribly dorky, is very necessary for note taking.

My Latest Culinary Creation: Mediteranian Stir Fry

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 10:35:00 -0700

Last night was one of those meals where you have to build it around that ingredient in your fringe that was about to go bad. In this case: mixed saute greens. After surveying the rest of the ingredients available and wanting to do something simple yet different, I opted for the ease of stir fry but with Mediterranean flavors (hence the name). I chose to use couscous as a side because I’m hopelessly bad at making rice, but I’m sure rice or pilaf would also be tasty. It turned out to be a big hit, so I figured I’d share.

Mediterranean Stir Fry

Ingredients

boneless, skinless chicken breast

salt

black pepper

rosemary

mixed greens (I added extra spinach to the Trader Joes Southern Greens Mix)

1 Tbsp olive oil

feta cheese

sauce: 1/2 c balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbsp honey

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1 C whole wheat couscous

1C water

2 Tbs olive oil

salt

garlic salt or vegetable bullion

Cooking Instructions

1. Combine balsamic vinegar and honey in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmering until the mixture begins to thicken (approx. 10 min). Remove from heat and set aside (mixture will continue to thicken as it cools).

2. Cut chicken into stir-fry size pieces. Heat olive oil in wok or lg saute pan and season with salt, black pepper, and rosemary.

3. Once chicken is cooked through, add greens and saute greens (make sure to taste and add salt and pepper as needed).

4. When greens are cooked to taste, add feta and toss with the balsamic reduction.

For couscous: combine 1 C water, 2 Tbsp olive oil, salt and garlic salt or bulion and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in 1 C couscous. Let stand for 5 minutes then fluff with a fork just before serving.

Voila!

How I Spent My Summer Vacation Pt. 4

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:03:20 -0700

ancestors

where my grandparents were married

Grandma Bert, Grandpa and I

Heidleberg Project, Detroit

How I Spent My Summer Vacation Pt. 4