I finished reading this book just this morning. It’s less lengthy than the other books of his I have (and have not yet read: The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Botany of Desire). I do look forward to those other books, but I was invigorated by In Defense of Food as it takes an informed activist approach to looking at how and why we eat the way we do, and what “forces” are interested in maintaining that zeitgeist.
The option Pollan counters with is so simple, so logical, so easy (once one gets past some newly acquired habits) that it begs to be adopted. What a relief to drop the mania to look for the newest nutritional study for guidance, the need to be a chemist to figure out what to look for in food labeling.
This fits so well, so hand-in-glove, with some other threads in my life, towards simplicity in structure, toward logic and pragmatism, toward acting upon ideals, toward health, toward gardening expansion. This is a book of substance, but a pretty easy and fast read. Recommended.
I was so sick of the default Kubrick style, so I’m half way across the stream: Header and background in. Structure in. The rest is pending.
I’m really being affected by the shorter days. Here it is, nearly 8 a.m., and it’s pre-dawn: sun lighting the horizon a bit pink, people have their lights on.
My hurt ankle (which is doing much better, thanks, though still swollen — or “schwollen”, as one of my wonderful acupucturists says) really kiboshed the good progress I was doing on getting in better shape. Blobbing will do that. I was working in the garden yesterday and got winded after a short while.
I wouldn’t mind having an open account at Chelsea Green, publishers, whom I follow on Twitter @chelseagreen … See this latest which highlights a book by Charles Dowding, “Salad Leaves for All Seasons”. The post includes a great YouTube video describing successful ways to get the most leaves from your garden. I rather failed at that this year, not taking time to do any seedlings. And I do envy him his greenhouse.
I’ve always wanted a place to deal with my failed CD burns or (remember?) AOL mailings. This CD Recycling Center does accept CDs and DVDs and is trying to build up a full-country network.
And in closing, Opacity photographs “urban ruins”…something that’s always fascinated me for an unknown reason. I think I had some other sites in a previous blog… Hmm. Ah, well. All is fleeting and decays.
Monday is here already. Successfully avoided doing much computer work (ie: client work) over the week-end, though I watched a really great CSS tutorial, the first three episodes in my iTunes — on converting a Photoshop layout to a clean and semantic site, and have downloaded all: this is way cool and the presentation is clear and the material incredibly useful.
Noted for later: read this interview of Patrick McGrath (I’ve enjoyed “The Grotesque”) and … yes: most interesting. Ah: “Trauma” is his eighth novel; I must investigate.
And, of course the SlideShowPro: I want to use that copy of Director I bought but didn’t use for another project.
And the apex: trying to figure how I will buy groceries (ah, an aside: of course I’ll probably be living on yoghurt for the next two weeks) .. but I got my first digital lens. I got a digital body a couple of years ago but had been using my old film-body lenses but my eyes are getting tired/old/flakey and I was having consistent trouble discerning focus on narrow depth of field items (which I like to shoot). It was really depressing and I’d cut way back on taking photos. The impetus for the purchase was the upcoming photo shoot of M’s artwork (and yes, last year the shots were a bit blurry). This years’ need to go into a book and they’re line and ink so clarity is a must.
which is terrifically stimulating. I’m half way through and will report again once I’ve finished it.
And the apex: trying to figure how I will buy groceries (ah, an aside: of course I’ll probably be living on yoghurt for the next two weeks) .. but I got my first digital lens. I got a digital body a couple of years ago but had been using my old film-body lenses but my eyes are getting tired/old/flakey and I was having consistent trouble discerning focus on narrow depth of field items (which I like to shoot). It was really depressing and I’d cut way back on taking photos. The impetus for the purchase was the upcoming photo shoot of M’s artwork (and yes, last year the shots were a bit blurry). This years’ need to go into a book and they’re line and ink so clarity is a must. 
