Food Journal: Day Two

Morning

 - easy mac
 - 2 oranges


Afternoon

 - pasta
 - hot chocolate


Evening

 - orange
 - frozen dinner

I ate pasta three times today. This really makes me think about my eating habits and how healthy they are. I think I really need to diversify my diet. A question that was raised in class today was: why variety? Why have lots of different variations of things, even people (for example, different skin colors)? In terms of diet, one reason to have variation is for health reasons: everyone needs to eat many different kinds of foods because different foods contain different vitamins. So, if you eat all kinds of foods (like vegetables, fruits, grains, protein), you get all the vitamins you need. But if you eat only one type of food (like I eat too many carbohydrates, obviously), you don't get all the vitamins that are vital to your health. I should think about this more when choosing my food. I will try to be more aware of it tomorrow.

Food Journal: Day One

Morning

 - 1 orange
 - cup of yogurt


Afternoon

 - bowl of cheese tortellini
 - cup of coffee
 - almonds


Evening
 - sandwich with hard-boiled eggs
 - more oranges


I am hoping that keeping a daily food journal will give me some insight into how I eat, what I regularly eat, and why I eat the way I do.

Born Male... No Periods

This meme serves as an excellent companion to the Gloria Steinem article that Thylias emailed to us. In "If Men Could Menstruate," Steinem argues that no matter what, traits and qualities of the dominant group in society will be case in a positive light, and traits and qualities of the oppressed group in society will be viewed negatively. To illustrate this idea, she gives us a hypothetical scenario: what if men were the ones who had periods, and not women?

As it stands currently, of course, women have periods, and men do not. Today, women's periods are viewed as disgusting, shameful, and disabling. Women are said to be weaker and more emotionally troubled while on their periods. In short, periods in women are seen as negative, as indicated in this meme, which posits that, since the "speaker" or meme creator is male, he doesn't have periods, and is therefore lucky (the meme, by the way, is called "Success Kid," so positive things happen to the baby in it).

However, what if men had periods? Would the meme look like this?

Gloria Steinem seems to think the answer is yes, and I would have to agree.

(Here is a link to the article, if you haven't already read it: "If Men Could Menstruate," Gloria Steinem.)

The clean plate club - to join or not to join?

Today I saw a very relevant meme that relates to our discussion yesterday about food and over-consumption of food in our society today. We feel like we have to finish everything on our plates, whether it's because we spent money on it, or because our parents taught us as children to always leave the plate clean. I think that our must-eat-everything mindset is a big part of the obesity epidemic.

This "First World Problems" meme laments that she will have to eat, even when she doesn't want to. How can we combat this problem in America? What will change our mindset about food?

The plan is to stay ?

I took these photos a couple weeks ago during our visit to the art gallery in the Art & Architecture building. I thought this work by Nick Tobier was really interesting. It made me think about the personal decisions that face me at this point in my life, and one of these decisions is: to stay, or not to stay? I have been contemplating whether I should finish my degree next year and graduate, or whether I should study abroad next year and then take an extra semester or two. I love that art is often so applicable to our own lives as to almost feel personal - as if the artist made their piece just for us, even though we have never met and may never meet. Every piece of art is truly a book: it tells a story, sends a message, and connects all of us with its universality.

A different sort of reading...

I came across this website. It's about how to read your footprint. Since I have very flat feet, I know I have over-pronation. I should probably wear better shoes that can help with that!

http://www.aofas.org/footcaremd/how-to/foot-health/Pages/How-to-Read-Your-Footprint.aspx

my own foot

Logging off and tuning out

Our in-class discussion yesterday was really interesting and I think a lot of valid, thoughtful comments were made about the current education system and whether technology is wholly beneficial or perhaps more harmful than we think. In some ways, it's a little ironic that we had that discussion and yet our journeys are being documented through an online and completely technology-based interface: the blog. So I feel a little bit weird and hypocritical blogging about the perils of technology, since I'm using it right now.

However, like Thylias said, when are we really not using technology? Even when we use a pencil or hammer a nail into a wall, we are using some form of technology. It's kind of like the question, When are we not reading? The answer is, perhaps, never.

As we talked about during our discussion, it's really important for kids in this and the next generation to learn to play - to make up games, play outside, etc. I agree, but I do not think removing technology from schools, even just removing the "fun" aspect to it, is a good solution to the problem. Since about 60% of elementary students today will have jobs in the future that do not even exist now, I think it's extremely important to keep students abreast of new and emerging technology. Yes, the technology will change, but as long as both teachers and students continue to learn about and tackle it together, I think the students will be much better off.

I also took a picture of the plant that was on the table in front of me. I really like how the photo tells a story: you can see that it is sunny outside (it's snowy today and I'm dearly missing that nice weather) and that the sun is coming through the window at a slant, so the plant is casting a shadow (and this way you can tell about what time is was - noon). You can also see my coffee cup, and surmise that that morning, I was feeling tired and in need of a caffeine boost. From knowing that I was tired, you can also piece together a story of my night before this morning: what did I do? What time did I go to bed? Why was I tired the next morning?

Dorian Gray's Definition of A Book

While reading Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray for my English 313 class, I noticed that the character Dorian Gray suggests a non-conventional definition of "book." Throughout the novel, Dorian Gray is haunted by a portrait that has been painted of him and that seems to change according to how much he sins. The portrait version of Dorian Gray grows old, grotesque, and sinister, while the "real" Dorian Gray remains youthful, handsome, and pure - if only in appearance - after his repeated sinful acts. On page 185 of the book, Dorian Gray says, "'I keep a diary of my life from day to day, and it never leaves the room in which it is written.'" Although it seems that he is talking about a book, Dorian Gray is actually referencing the doomed portrait of him, which reflects his daily actions and activities. Dorian Gray's speaking of a portrait as if it were a book (a "diary") is very interesting, since, in this class, we are striving to consider alternative and varied definitions of "book."

A book dress!

(found on Pinterest)

Another thought...

Today after class, Thylias said something very interesting that reminded me of something I had seen a few years ago. She said that physical books are technically edible, but that she wouldn't want to eat one. It reminded me of this image, which I collected years ago from the website postsecret.com, a blog that posts weekly secrets that people have written and sent anonymously on a postcard.

When I think more about Postsecret, I realize that these secrets are, in fact, "books" themselves, because they clearly tell a story. Sometimes I read them just for the "story" element that they have, and to imagine who wrote the secret and why. For this reason, one of my favorite Postsecrets of all time is:

The tantalizingly unknown subtext of this picture and this confession is extremely intriguing. Someone could write a whole book (in the "traditional" sense) on this secret!

Exploring North Campus

Today, as we were exploring the concrete jungle outside of the Duderstadt, I collected some interesting photos and a video.

I saw this statue. The plaque in front of it said "Triad Ritual / Beverly Pepper / 1993 / Gift of the Class of 1937E and the Artist." This statue made me think about how maybe a definition of "book" could be "something that tells a story." There is surely an interesting story behind this statue. Some obvious questions that come to mind are: Who is Beverly Pepper? Why did she make this statue? Why does it depict a 'triad ritual'? Thinking about these questions also reminded me that every story interacts with another story. For instance, the story of this statue interacts, in my mind, with my own story; I was one year old in 1993, and I lived in California. What was my life like then? What was the life of the artist of this statue like?

During our time outside, I also took the video below. Our class had been discussing the possibility of interviewing other people - and each other - about what they believe a book is. Here is my first interviewee:

It was very interesting to ask a random stranger, who had very little time to think of an answer, this question. I hope to do more of this kind of interviewing in the future because I think it produces fascinating results.