Wednesday, May 7. 2008
Adventures in Local [Politics] Posted by Angela Herrmann
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19:21Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Adventures in Local [Politics]
As a life-long resident of Indiana (so far), I was proud to call Indiana home Tuesday. As I reviewed the list of candidates on the Democratic ballot for my district in Marion County, the candidates represented people who are protestant, Jewish, Catholic, and Muslim; male and female; and black, white, and Hispanic (I sure hope I'm not missing anyone!) ... a little microcosm of the people I see around the city.
Saturday, March 1. 2008
Will reform make math suck less? Posted by Tom Rogers
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15:06Comments (2) Trackbacks (0) Will reform make math suck less? Estonia? Thursday, February 14. 2008
Ok, maybe, just maybe, O'Reilly has ... Posted by Tom Rogers
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16:22Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Ok, maybe, just maybe, O'Reilly has a point this time
I
Oh Really? Bill O'Reilly constantly rants against the corrupt mainstream media, its accused liberal bias, and the not-so-covert cheering for Barrack Obama and while I don't normally agree with Mr. Opportunism, I also follow the words of the Godfather and try to "keep your friends close but your enemies closer". On Sunday night, I watched 60 Minutes on CBS since I had heard that both Clinton and Obama would be interviewed. As the race on the Democratic side is a dead heat, I hoped to see them both in a level, if not a tough-questioning, environ. Can't hurt to hope. Steve Kroft led off with Obama. It wasn't anything new but did have some policy questions and at least one decent query as to the fundamental difference between the boyish Barack and the battle-hardened Hillary. There was a fluffy question about down time to which Barack added to March Madness by saying that he played pick-up roundball every day to release the tension and keep in shape. The question was short and upbeat and so too, the answer. Not a bad interview. Obama handled himself well and Kroft looked professional if not Mike Wallace-like. Next Katie Couric sat with Hillary Clinton. The tone of the interview was immediately and whinily different. Katie asked if Hillary had any doubts that she would win the nomination. Hillary replied that she was sure of victory. Katie re-asked the same question throwing in something about the slightest of doubt. Hillary again replied in the positive of her campaign. Katie thirdly asked if Hillary had even a little bit of doubt in her deepest thoughts. At this point I'd had it and screamed "Dammit Katie, asked and answered already! Geez, get on with it!" Katie then turned to hard hitting questions such as since the campaign is so long and tiring, how do you possibly do it (at your age)? Apparently Katie was hoping Hillary would agree that it was tough to be a candidate who was also a woman and start crying. Instead the conversation focused on diet drinks and water that keep Hillary hydrated and going all day and then Katie asked the burning question of whether Bill would be helping with any decisions at all during her presidency, as if the former President, with all his good-and-bad experience, would ever be asked to do anything more in-depth than choosing the pattern for the White House china...or thinking up duties for interns. I'm sure there must have been some good questions asked sometime during the interview but I at this point, I wouldn't have noticed if both women had been naked. On commercial, I suddenly remembered Bill O'Reilly and his assertion that the major networks were all really pulling for Obama. This was just one small example, CBS, and one show, 60 Minutes, but in this segment it seemed like the cards were indeed stacked in favor of the Senator from Illinois. Dang, I hate it when O'Reilly's credible. It's like finding out that 2 + 2 is occasionally 5. Thursday, September 13. 2007David Hoppe: Superstar
As you may or may not know, David Hoppe is probably the best-accessorized NUVO employee. Yesterday, we had the privilege of watching him climb into his tan-and-brown Mini Cooper whilst sporting a rather fetching brown velvet sport coat, a snug T-shirt, some tight jeans and a wicked pair of squared-toed loafers. And today, we find the Hoppster quoted in this WRTV story about the efforts of the Vonnegut Center to save Kurt Vonnegut's childhood home. It even lists his telephone number! On days like these, it's very rewarding to work at NUVO.
Wednesday, September 12. 2007We can't make this stuff up
Here's the funny thing about God: Sometimes you will hit a dry spell and nothing seems to be going your way, then, whammo, He will hit you with a bunch of blessings like a ton of bricks and you will realize it was made all the sweeter by the struggle you had to endure. Such was the case for us this afternoon when, after an extended period of not seeing any stories worth blogging about, we came across the story of a Bloomington man who attacked a girl with a samurai sword because she was going to leave his apartment with a puppy dog.
Friday, September 7. 2007
Adventures in Local Food IX: or ... Posted by Angela Herrmann
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11:26Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Adventures in Local Food IX: or Adventures in No Food--The Climate Emergency FastI engaged in a 22 hour fast Tuesday September 4. Why? To support the efforts of the U.S. Climate Emergency Council. I was not alone. In fact, nearly 1,200 people from all 50 states and 14 countries fasted. Fasting traditionally has been more of a spiritual practice for me, not political. But given the changes that I have observed in my short 40-some years on this Earth (including the change in Indiana's hardiness zone from 1990 to 2006, see www.arborday.org/media/mapchanges.cfm), to which I unknowingly and knowingly have contributed, this action seemed to be a logical extension of my spiritual practice. Some might ask why I would do this and what difference it would make. Those are valid questions. Fasting always increases awareness of my body and how it works: a life system so complex that it has not been replicated in the lab. As I experience hunger pangs, I am reminded of some children I once encountered at a Nicaraguan gas station who swarmed our vehicle, asking for food or money, with glue bottles in hand; I am reminded of the growing numbers of homeless people around this city, left vulnerable because of rising prices of, well, everything. As I look around and see squirrels and wrens and butterflies darting around for sustenance, I am reminded that the abundance they enjoy is not shared by all humans—and we know better, don't we? As I fill the time normally spent eating, preparing to eat, or cleaning up after eating, I am reminded of the resources that were not used to make food available to me ... no plastics, no fossil fuels, no water … I am reminded that virtually all we do happens around or in consideration of food. And yet, our food choices do indeed contribute to climate change. How? In a study titled, "Diet, Energy and Global Warming," the writers include many statistics, such as this one: "In 2002, the [U.S.] food production system accounted for 17 percent of all fossil fuel use in the United States." The article concludes by saying that an American consuming a mixed diet (meat and vegetables) contributes 6 percent more of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions than an American who eats a plant-based diet. (The article is available online at http://geosci.uchicago.edu/~gidon/papers/nutri/nutriEI.pdf.) Yes, I fasted for only a day. Some have continued their fast. In the scheme of things, one person for one day probably did not make that much difference. But I was one of 1,200. Next time, maybe two to three times that number of people will voluntarily fast ... meanwhile, the opportunity, or the luxury to fast (because too many don't have a choice, they simply go hungry, even in Indianapolis) has afforded me an opportunity to more mindfully consider the choices I make and how those choices affect those around me and the climate. Tuesday, August 28. 2007Uh... wait, what?
Although we have recently pined for a dog, we confess to really being more of a cat person at heart. Why, just yesterday, after talking with our therapist about proving the existence of God with a variation of Rene Descartes' famously circular "I think, therefore I am" argument and then spring-boarding into a wide-reaching understanding of the meaning of life that even had our therapist going, "Whoa, that's deep!", we came cross two kittens playing in a plastic chair on a front porch, and, as we knelt down to play along with the little buggers and they stood up and arched their tiny heads towards our hand such that they might better absorb the love we were transmitting, we felt quite God-like. So imagine our pleasure to read about two heroic cats who died saving the lives of their human masters.
Tuesday, August 21. 2007Stuck-up Chicago writer: 'Indy not bad'
Thanks to the IBJ for pointing us to a Chicago Tribune article in which writer Alan Solomon almost praises Indianapolis as a travel destination. Oh, don't get us wrong, it's kind of a back-handed compliment and Solomon takes every opportunity to point out that you'd think Indianapolis would be a completely race-obsessed backwater town... but at least he doesn't use any corn-y puns. (Har har!)
Sunday, August 19. 2007
Adventures in Local Food VIII: ... Posted by Angela Herrmann
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20:21Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Adventures in Local Food VIII: Eating local in Iowa
My recent adventures found me feasting on local food in Iowa last week. While many would not consider the middle of Iowa a vacation destination (cyclists take note: Iowa will kick your b---, Iowa has hills!), I was thrilled by what I found there ... Continue reading "Adventures in Local Food VIII: Eating local in Iowa" Thursday, August 9. 2007
Adventures in Local Food VII: An ... Posted by Angela Herrmann
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20:34Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Adventures in Local Food VII: An August HarvestOh yeeeeeah ... it's Thursday and Anita has delivered the box filled with corn, lettuce (not the boring heads of lettuce in a bag you buy at the grocery), tomatoes (five different varieties, if I've identified them correctly), green peppers, cucumbers, and eight-ball (round) zucchini. It's August in Indiana. It just doesn't get any better than this. With the exception of popcorn and chocolate, I've managed to eat most of my meals produced on Indiana soil in recent weeks. I concede that when you decide to eat what's in season and available, you have to get creative. Let's take the cabbage that I've been working through. It was plentiful at the Homestead Growers farm, I saw it (and I still need to talk about that visit to the farm on the blog ...) Four days ... eight meals later ... six of those leftovers. But, I am the queen of leftovers, I can't throw out anything. Home-made cabbage rolls (with home-canned tomato sauce from 2006, onions and garlic, also raisins, but they probably came from California) and cabbage soup, with lots of other vegetables, kept me going for nearly a week! As for dinner tonight? Corn on the cob and salad! Monday, August 6. 2007'Star'struck
Gah! The Indy Star will run anything, including picking up a substance-free press release on the merger of two local singles websites. This is a sad day to work in local media.
Monday, July 30. 2007
Adventures in bad food ... and bad ... Posted by Angela Herrmann
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21:08Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Adventures in bad food ... and bad reportingAs one who studied journalism way back when, I take it upon myself to be specially qualified to critique a publication's news judgement. Case in point: a week ago, July 24, when I was still in Fort Worth, as I got on the elevator with some folks I knew, I noticed that one of them held the morning's USA Today. Of course I asked, " What are the latest headlines?" To which she replied, "Drew Carey is going to take over the Price is Right." "Really," I replied ... "Now tell me some news that matters ..." Ok, that was a little harsh, but here's the thing: Buried on page 8 of the Life section ... the LIFE section! ... next to the article on low 'health literacy' raising people's chances of death, is this headline, "Botulism scare forces wider recall." Correct me if I'm wrong, but with 90 brands affected by the botulism recall, I'm guessing that the odds of a can of bad food in the pantry just might be greater than the odds that someone is going to tune in to the Price is Right. Or am I wrong? Meanwhile, when all of those cans are stripped from the grocery store shelves, where do they go? Does anyone know? This kind of news makes the local stuff look a little more appetizing ... even if I can't readily identify it, at least I know who grew it. Monday, July 30. 2007
Adventures in Local Food VI: ... Posted by Angela Herrmann
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21:00Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Adventures in Local Food VI: Clandestine peachesPerhaps I should have never eaten the peach in public ... here I was, five days into a conference when I was able to secure fresh, local produce: tomatoes, peaches and pears. When people around me realized what I was eating, the questions followed, fast and furious: Where did you get that peach? Where can I find fresh food? How much did it cost? Do you have more? I did, but not that much! Continue reading "Adventures in Local Food VI: Clandestine peaches"Sunday, July 8. 2007
Numbness, Valium, and The Tube Posted by Mia Lee Bauman
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01:17Comments (2) Trackbacks (0) Numbness, Valium, and The Tube
So, Thursday morning I wake up and I can't feel my tongue. Shit. I hate that. This happens from time to time and it was one of the first symptoms I noticed before being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis back in '04.
Continue reading "Numbness, Valium, and The Tube"
Saturday, July 7. 2007
Adventures in Local Food V: ... Posted by Angela Herrmann
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18:46Comments (0) Trackbacks (0) Adventures in Local Food V: "Eat your fruits and vegetables ..."The closing message of Michael Moore's latest film, Sicko, advises viewers to "Eat your fruits and vegetables, and go for a walk."
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