Occupy and Chefs (French and Swedish)

1) I spent some time at the Occupy Harrisburg protest last week. Here, Slate's legal writer steps outside of her area of expertise and gives a thought-provoking take on the Occupy movement. She parses it NOT in terms of the economy, but in terms of the media response to it, and Occupy's lack of re-response to that media attention: "Mark your calendars: The corporate media died when it announced it was too sophisticated to understand simple declarative sentences."

2) As Heather and I brainstormed for our Halloween costumes, we stumbled upon a shocking realization: the Muppets' Swedish Chef appears to be a parody of Julia Child's The French Chef. After doing my research, I realized that this is entirely possible, and that it is already written up on wikipedia. Nonetheless, I'll post two clips below. Note the similarities in theme music (in at :28 in the first video), kitchen decor, and mannerisms of the two chefs.

JULIA CHILD (this one is long -- just watch the first 45 seconds):


SWEDISH CHEF:


And finally, if you're still reading along, two of my favorite Swedish Chef videos here and here.

Update (30 days, surgery)

1) I am currently laid up in bed, under the influence of powerful painkillers, recovering from a minor hernia repair surgery. No big deal, just some mini-chicken-wire inside my abdomen and three incisions.

Painkillers do not mess around. I've been laying around the house, taking the occasional trip outside (around the block, to the back porch, to the market, etc.), and thought I was handling them well. No hallucinations, no fainting -- but today was my first big expedition: to work for a coffee cupping. Cupping, when it's not being used by industry types to ascertain coffee grades and salability, is like a wine tasting for coffee lovers. Ours is led by the informative and entertaining Phil Proteau of Counter Culture Coffee, and it's not a thing to be missed. Unfortunately, cupping also requires a high level of cognition and sensory recognition (does this coffee smell sweet? how sweet? sweet like a muffin or sweet like caramel?).  I was spaced out the whole time, able to focus mostly on staying on my feet and not choking on coffee (cupping involves a powerful inhaling SLURP to aerate the coffee). I hobbled home humbled by the power of Percocet.

Nonetheless, it was good to get out of the house.


2) I listened to a TED talk awhile ago about how doing something new for 30 days can positively impact one's life. So, as I lay here, I'm brainstorming for a good 30-day project for my post-recovery period. Possibilities include:

Create an alternate personality twitter account (inspired by Feminist Hulk)
Take a photo a day
Roast a batch of coffee a day (already pretty close on this one)
Cook something new every day


any suggestions?

Drive

A few thoughts on "Drive," mostly to clear it out of my head, where it's been for the past few days.

I) Sound. 
This movie will win some sort of award(s) for sound design or sound track. Both were phenomenal and unique, in my opinion the major element keeping this movie from feeling too "Hollywood." If you've seen it, imagine it with any other music, sound effects, dialogue mixing, etc., and realize how conventional it would feel.

II) Violence.
The violence in this movie was shocking, hard to do in this day and age. Some of it was necessary, some of it was gratuitous, but it reminded me of the power that violence really has (see my notes on "Reservoir Dogs"). In this movie, the violence is (or tries to be) redemptive. Unfortunate, as its virtuosic portrayal could have been a stinging commentary against violence.

III) Driver.
The lead character in this movie is unnamed (played by Ryan Gosling, listed in the credits as "Driver"), inviting us to read him as a cipher for all kinds of things, including: Video games (particularly Grand Theft Auto), Cars / the Auto Industry, White/Western Paternalism, The Dearth of Heroes, Blind Ambition. Pick your favorite Big Topic, and try to map it onto Driver as you watch this movie.

IV) Wrap-Up.
I can't in good faith recommend this movie. I didn't like watching it, though I recognize how well-done it is. The only exception to that statement is the long cold-open. That bit could play as a short film on its own, and be perfect.

Roasting

I'm not sure whether this means that my job has taken over my life, or that I'm in the job for the moment. Either way, it definitely means that, as I suspected during the earthquake, coffee has taken over my life.

I have begun home roasting in earnest.

It turns out that popcorn technology and coffee-roasting technology are very similar, so, after blowing out the heating element on an air popper, I ordered a Whirley Pop.

There are plenty of places out there on the internet where the process is described, but basically, the stove (or in my case, the working electric hot plate I found on my neighbor's trash pile) heats the pot up to approximately 400 degrees F, while the crank handle agitates the coffee beans to ensure that no one bean is heated for longer than the others.

I had my first cup of properly aired and roasted coffee from the whirley pop this morning. While it was not a revelation in the sense that some coffees from professional roaster Counter Culture (served at work) have been, it was an incredibly complex cup, full of nutty flavors and subtle undertones that Counter Culture's  coffee, roasted in North Carolina 3-4 days before we get it here in Harrisburg, never have.

A little practice, some good note taking, and (hopefully!) visiting with Aaron down at local roaster Little Amps, and I'll be cranking up some exciting coffees.