From the mixed-up files of me

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:48:01 -0500

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.

-To Autumn by John Keats

Technology to Sex & Dating

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:01:00 -0500

Technology to Sex & Dating:

A very unlikely topic for David Brooks (sex and dating trends), in a very interesting Op-Ed. In it, he ponders the current technology-addled world of courtship and how it changes or threatens relationships. Specifically, he targets text-messaging as responsible for a drastic change in the way we communicate with partners:

The opportunity to contact many people at once seems to encourage compartmentalization, as people try to establish different kinds of romantic attachments with different people at the same time.

He takes examples of courtship from technology-free generations past and upholds them as somehow more “transcendent, spiritual,” and having certain guidelines or “scripts” to follow.

You would expect a dynamic society to come up with appropriate scripts. But technology has made this extremely difficult. Etiquette is all about obstacles and restraint. But technology, especially cellphone and texting technology, dissolves obstacles.

He concludes:
Today’s technology seems to threaten the sort of recurring and stable reciprocity that is the building block of trust.

With all due respect, and complete cognizance that this is, after all, an Op-Ed, I think Brooks ought to try dating by text message before making such harsh and general observations on it himself. I think he is missing the point that at a certain period in their lives, or for just certain individuals, people are always going to sleep around, date around, or continually search for quick, casual affairs rather than serious committed relationships. (Isn’t that what one’s twenties are supposedly good for?) This behavior will probably always exist and always has, even in the so-called more systematic days of dating, to the backdrop of “Bruce Springsteen love anthems” or under the guidelines of medieval chivalry. Isn’t text messaging actually creating a “script” for modern lovers, of a new code of courtship, rather than working outside the realms of all order whatsoever?

I also disagree with his theory that text-messaging creates an “atmosphere of general disenchantment.” Having been in flirtatious or even what might be described as “booty text-messaging” situations myself — with different people around the same time — to be quite frank, I found it pretty thrilling.

The atmosphere is fluid, like an eBay auction. This leads to a series of marketing strategies. You don’t want to appear too enthusiastic… You want to appear bulletproof as you move confidently through the transactions.

I smell something similar to Victorian courtship mores here. You don’t want to be too open about your emotions. You want to have a good dowry, and good looks. You’re up for auction, essentially, if you’re a woman. But you don’t want to look desperate.

Suitors now contact each other in an instantaneous, frictionless sphere separated from larger social institutions and commitments.

That lovers can interact outside of larger social institutions and commitments actually sounds pretty great if you ask me. To be freer, to be allowed to act more wholly oneself, more human, without as many pressures of society, will show generations of the future more what people are really like. It will show people’s potential lovers more who they are really like.

NYTimes on cheap dating

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:07:00 -0400

NYTimes on cheap dating:

The Times reporter interviewed me a few days ago for this story: it’s basically about young people preferring less fancy, more casual restaurants and food (i.e. arepas) when dating over more formal meals — whether given the economic recession or just for fun. She didn’t end up using my quotes; I think she wanted me to name a few cheap, kitschy hamburger joints or something in the city that I liked to go to for date meals, while I gently pushed the virtues of cooking together as a cheap and casual alternative (not to mention one that’s not going to bulldoze your daily caloric intake with one bite).

Really good pork bun trumps corner banquette; comfort trumps stuffiness; and cheap is no longer an epithet.

“If you can spend under $80 for a nice date meal, you’re definitely feeling good about it,” said Andrew Steinthal, a music executive. “Twenty dollars,” countered Rachel Wharton, a writer, whose ideal first date is hitting the taco trucks in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Consequently, casual is the new sophisticated; paper napkins and communal tables are the new standard.

It’s true these are trends but I think the story slights the fact that some of this is less romantically than gastronomically motivated. Rachel is a die-hard foodie who will scavenge the city for the best pork bun, on a date or not. The couple in the beginning of the article both work in the food industry. These folks know that a good, authentic taco is a cheap one rather than some gussied-up imitation at a high-falutin restaurant.

Hot Farmers

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:07:26 -0400

Hot Farmers:

When my farmer friend Dan asked me if I had something to do with an article/slideshow of young, attractive farmers in the Huffington Post that he was included in, I had to admit that yes, “I curated half that piece,” I told him. The article was Katherine’s idea (HuffPost Green Editor) and we both thought it was a gas. Some people may be turned off by it and think it degrades the meaningfulness of these intrepid young farmers’ work, which I can understand. I simply think that we’re still praising their efforts, as well as putting farming in a fun light, and showing that farmers are attractive and healthy (they don’t look like truckers, right?), which is not such a typical stereotype. And I appreciate pushing the limits of taste. (I also made sure Katherine asked these folks for their permission before putting up their photos as a “hot farmer.”) The only thing I’m not too crazy about is that readers can vote for who they think is the hottest farmer. I knew Annie Novak from Eagle Street’s Rooftop Farms would probably win this from the start, and I just hope that she feels comfortable enough with that kind of attention, so serious about her work as she is.

Then, this NYPost article came out shortly afterward, talking about the “hotness” of Queens County Farm Museum’s Michael Robertson (aka my ex). Setting aside obvious weirdness and hilarity for now (“Indeed, being a farmer in New York City isn’t always a roll in the hay — especially when he tells people what he does for a living. For one, Robertson says it doesn’t make a good pickup line”), I would say that this article is pretty over-the-top. No more comment.

"Vegetable bag"

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:46:00 -0400

"Vegetable bag":

It is difficult to even know where to begin with the story of how and what determined my book’s cover art. There had been a cover, after about 4 bad ideas they ran past me, that was initially deemed THE ONE. It had a spoon with some messy sauce on it, and the title in Helvetica in red and pink. It was originally on the Amazon page for the book (linked above). Then some marketing folks thought it wasn’t exciting enough and we went back to the drawing board.

They came up with about fifty really bad ideas that they ran past me, which I ran past my design guru Gino, who offered sanguine exclamations of outrage and disbelief. In the meantime, I tinkered with ideas of my own and so did Gino… and we thought we had a slam dunk with these food-as-letters photos, which he laid out in a stylish vertical-read design.

Finally, they showed me a cover slightly different than the one currently on the book’s Amazon page. I stared for about five minutes in puzzlement upon first opening the file. I asked my co-worker sitting next to me for her thoughts on it and she stared with a weird expression (probably the same one I had) for another thirty seconds or so. She ultimately decided that this was a memorable image, this “vegetable bag,” as she called it. Gino rejected the idea as fairly stupid. But on further pondering and staring with weird expressions, I think the strange image grew on each of us. As Melissa (co-worker) said, “You have to be ready to be known and associated with the vegetable bag from now on.” Okay. So I’m down with that.

The funniest part of the story could be that when I was first sending the cover image to Gino by instant message, at the same time talking to Melissa about it in person, she saw the image surrounded by the lime green “speech bubble” that AIM instant message puts around everything I type to a buddy. The cover image was framed in the lime green speech bubble, and upon first glance, Melissa thought it was part of the cover. When I opened the real file on my screen, she said, “where’s the green?” We both thought the color was nice and fresh. So I suggested a green border to my editor, who got the design team to implement it. And now it’s part of the design.

Farmers use vending machines to sell local produce

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:52:24 -0400

Farmers use vending machines to sell local produce:

“The Regiomat machines can be placed outdoors 365 days a year as long as they’re under a roof (some have even been placed alongside hiking trails in Switzerland), effectively giving locals a 24-hour farmers’ market and farmers a lot more free time.”

Oh, Switzerland!

In Praise of Slowness

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:35:44 -0400

In Praise of Slowness:

Just reminding myself to buy this book. It sounds amazing… and I don’t even most thaat fast, for a New Yorker, at least.

Living Craigslist

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:14:52 -0400

Living Craigslist:

Amazing, hilarious, perfectly executed blog written by a guy attempting to live off of craigslist entirely, from foods to jobs and “friends.” Let’s see how it goes.

A devastating reminder that the illnesses persist

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:32:15 -0400

A devastating reminder that the illnesses persist:

“In the simplest terms, she ran out of luck in a food-safety game of chance whose rules and risks are not widely known.”

I love it when reporters, especially for a hugely read, well-respected journal like the NY Times, make a finely-tuned verbal punch in the face at the (industry) powers-that-be like this sentence right here in the lede. It makes me feel like I’m living in Europe, or not in the Bush era any longer. Oh right!

"Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit."

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:29:18 -0400

“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit.”

- Henry David Thoreau, via a paper tag from the end of the string on a Celestial Seasonings teabag I took from my office kitchen.

Upcoming Cheap Dates

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:32:27 -0400

A sneak preview of some of the guests lined up for Cheap Date!

Oct. 9: Rachel Wharton and Keith Wagstaff, food writers

Oct. 16: Charley Miller, GiveandDate.com

Oct. 23: Michelle Maisto, author of The Gastronomy of Marriage

Oct. 30: Yolanda Shoshana, The Luscious Life

Nov. 6: Rachel Kramer Bussell, erotica writer, Best Sex Writing editor

More cheap dating tips

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:06:00 -0400

More cheap dating tips:

from The Times:

“The two said the choice to slow down their spending was a no-brainer. They now frequent parks, take long walks, watch their favorite television shows on YouTube (they save money by not having cable), and bake cookies at home.”

Another book on how to Be Thrifty

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:31:00 -0400

Another book on how to Be Thrifty:

“Be Thrifty is not about being cheap — it’s about being smart and self-sufficient.”

Differing attitudes, word choice, but the message’s the same. There will probably be many more books like this honing in on all sorts of subjects to come. I contributed an essay to this book by Pia Catton. Coming out in Jan. 2010.

I’m finally getting a better hang of my new camera. And...

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:28:29 -0400

I’m finally getting a better hang of my new camera. And tomatillos can fly.

Want: this book

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:34:52 -0400

Want: this book:

“In Cheap We Trust: The Story of a Misunderstood American Virtue” — if only to know whether I’m misunderstanding things…

Greenhouse, white house. (Taken at Roberta’s Pizza,...

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 02:15:00 -0400

Greenhouse, white house. (Taken at Roberta’s Pizza, the converted cargo rooftop garden.) Incidentally, a few days ago, Michelle Obama applied for a permit for a weekly farmers’ market close to the White House, furthering her effort to spread awareness about fresh, healthy food. People who have never heard of a “farmers’ market” in DC will now.

Pssst... talk radio show on cooking & dating advice, coming up!

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:29:00 -0400

Pssst... talk radio show on cooking & dating advice, coming up!:

The web page hasn’t been completed, but “Cheap Date” — the radio show that dishes advice and personal stories on cooking, dating and everything in between —- will air on Heritage Radio Network every Friday, from 3pm-4pm EST. In the studio, I will be joined by a different guest, such as a food or dating/sex expert, and we will tackle a subtopic such as “break-up food” as we take calls from listeners.

I will be explaining this in much better detail soon, along with a schedule of guests, but in the meantime: PLEASE help out by CALLING IN WITH YOUR FOOD AND DATING QUESTIONS… I know you’ve got them! Consider 3pm on Fridays as your chance to find out how to have the best date or meal that weekend with someone special! The show starts next Friday, Oct. 9th. To be continued. xoxoxooxo

What he said

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:39:35 -0400

What he said:

Dan Barber on “Why Cooking Matters,” from the Food For All issue of The Nation. There are so many good things in this issue, including a contribution by Michael Pollan on his sustainable food-writing forbears, Wendell Berry, Frances Moore Lappe, Joan Gussow and Barry Commoner. Let’s keep them coming.

Crap, it was videotaped

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:25:47 -0400

Crap, it was videotaped:

Evidently I wave my arms a lot when drunk. Thanks, Matt, for getting me wasted before stepping onstage at Crash Mansion to present my food record, and make fun of host for mentioning Hardee’s. Good… times…

Hello, Canon PowerShot SX20 IS: I don’t get you yet...

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:57:30 -0400

Hello, Canon PowerShot SX20 IS: I don’t get you yet (including how to hold you).