10.27.09
Posted in Book Reviews, Hmmm Moments at 7:39 pm by Administrator
It’s super windy out today. The perfect day to curl up and read a good book. I haven’t been able to finish any books on my “to read” list as family life has been keeping me pretty busy. However, one of Matty’s required reading for his English class is Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation. I had read that book years ago when it came out, so it was an interesting book and topic to re-examine.
We have been discussing Fast Food Nation because Matty’s had to write about the various chapters in this book. There are actually many aspects/concepts brought up in this book to discuss and write about, and one of the things Matty chose to write about was advertising. I like these discussions because it’s interesting to hear what my son is thinking and how he’s working things out in his mind. Plus it also gives me a different perspective. For instance regarding advertising one of his complaints was that it was a one-way street. That is, companies like McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants can advertise to us, but we can’t advertise back to them. Hmmm. I never thought about that. Plus, Matty pointed out that not only is it a one-way-street, but it comes directly into the home via television. I know, too, that many people would say that you can turn off the TV or change the channel. True. But it also reminded me of a portion of Barack Obama’s book, Audacity of Hope, where he writes about what’s broadcast on TV. This is what he wrote regarding a speech he gave at the Kaiser Family Foundation after they had given statistics that sex on TV had doubled in recent years:
“. . . Now I enjoy HBO as much as the next guy, and I generally don’t care what adults watch in the privacy of their own homes. In the case of children, I think it’s primarily the duty of parents to monitor what they are watching on television, and in my speech I even suggested that everyone would benefit if parents–heaven forbid–simply turned off the TV and tried to strike up a conversation with their kids.
“Having said all that, I indicated that I wasn’t too happy with ads for erectile-dysfunction drugs popping up every fifteen minutes whenever I watched a football game with my daughters in the room. I offered the further observation that a popular show targeted at teens, in which young people with no visible means of support spend several months getting drunk and jumping naked into hot tubs with strangers, was not ‘the real world.’ I ended by suggesting that the broadcast and cable industries should adopt better standards and technology to help parents control what streamed into their homes.
“You would have thought I was Cotton Mather. In response to my speech, one newspaper editorial intoned that the government had no business regulating protected speech, despite the fact that I hadn’t called for regulation. Reporters suggested that I was cynically tacking to the center in preparation for a national race. More than a few supporters wrote our office, complaining that they had voted for me to beat back the Bush agenda, not to act as the town scold.
“And yet every parent I know, liberal or conservative, complains about the coarsening of the culture, the promotion of easy materialism and instant gratification, and the severing of sexuality from intimacy. They may not want government censorship, but they want those corncerns recognized, their experiences validated. When, for fear of appearing censorious, progressive political leaders can’t even acknowledge the problem, those parents start listening to those leaders who will–leaders who may be less sensitive to constittional constraints.
“Of course conservatives have their own blind spots when it comes to addressing problems in the culture. Take executive pay. . . “
We realize that we can’t rely on government and the judgment of TV networks to choose suitable subjects for our family to view. This is the major reason why we take it upon ourselves to “not” watch regular television broadcasts in our home to limit negative influences. It’s not like there are any programs out there that is essential to watch anyway. But even so, what we have found is that we “still” are influenced by outside “advertising.” No we don’t eat fast foods and haven’t for more than 10 years now, but if we are honest with ourselves, we can’t deny that our society has influenced us even without watching television at home. And I think of what my son, Matty, said, “the influence of advertising is a one-way-street.” And I am reminded of another book I read called, Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television by Jerry Mander. I thought that was another excellent book which discussed the problems with television. I highly recommend that book, too. In that book, Mander explains how television skews our perceptions of real life. It’s been years since I read that book, but it was one of the reasons that encouraged us to stop watching regular television programs in our home.
So why then are we still so influenced by the “outside?” Well, because we still “read” the news and other books and articles, AND we are a family heavily into the internet. . . And we realize that even the people we associate with influence us. so if they are influenced by television, we will be, too. So these discussion with Matty has enlightened me a bit and reminded me that we have to be alert and aware that we are not immune to negative influences even though we try to limit what streams into our home via media. And this is why it is extra important that we teach our boys what’s good and what’s bad and to understand that the friends they choose or the people they associate with will influence them. So that they will be able to discern good from bad and right from wrong in a world that seems to be increasingly blurring those lines.
The next book I’m hoping to get my hands on is called Eating Animals by Jonathan Foer. I don’t expect to go vegetarian after reading it as I’ve already been there and done that, so no thank you. But with the reviews it’s been getting, I’ll probably learn some things from Foer. And with my other son, Andrew’s, school subjects, he has rekindled my interested in reading Sven Lindqvist’s book, A History of Bombing, because Andrew had to do a presentation on the ethics of the bombing of Dresden. He was discussing this with me, and we were looking at the death toll statistics of WWII and the polls taken on whether it was necessary to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I know my feelings on it, but I’d like to read what Lindqvist has to say about it. So, I’ve got those two books on library hold. Let’s see if I can manage to get through them.
Okay, so I can smell that dinner is ready, and I’ve rambled long enough, so better leave it here for now. Was there any point to this post? Eh, I think I was just enjoying how I can have interesting discussions with my boys. And to think that once they were so small and our conversations used to be so different!
Marlakins
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10.23.09
Posted in cooking, food and restaurants, humor at 12:45 pm by Administrator
Way back in February I tried to get the recipe for rellenong bangus from my aunt. Unfortunately this aunt isn’t internet/computer savvy, but my other cousins said that my other aunt could give me the tricks to making this rellenong banus. Sadly, that aunt has been very sick and is still in the hospital.
This is the rellenong bangus that my aunt prepared and my boys loved.
Aaron and I were checking out the net when we came across this video on “how to make rellenong bangus.” Ah! Not sure if these are the exact methods and ingredients my aunts use, but it looks pretty good. Check it out.
Not sure when I’ll be able to try this, but at least now I have a better idea of what is involved and can mull it over in my head until I get down to it. And I do realize that there’s likely some variations on how to prepare this because I do remember hearing that my aunt BBQed it wrapped in banana leaves. . . hmmm
Anyhoo, while I’m on the Filipino kick, here’s a video from Happy Slip that we watched the other night that gave us a little chuckle.
I just took my sister to the airport yesterday, so I might get some interesting pictures after the flooding. It so, I’ll try to share some of those pictures. However, they are still in flood season and anticipating another storm. So we’ll see what that brings. Gee, come to think of it, I bet she still hasn’t landed yet. . . but almost!
Well, better get on with the day. . . Toodles for now!
Marlakins
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10.14.09
Posted in food and restaurants, gardening at 3:26 pm by Administrator
We have RAIN! I can’t remember if it was last February or March since we last saw rain this year. Since then things here have been dry, dry, dry. Because of the drought, we have only been allowed to water the yards on Mondays and Thursdays after 4PM for 10 minutes. In addition to the dryness, So Cal has been weathering fires while other parts of the country have been cold and rainy. Even the Philippines was deluged with water while things dried up here. But yesterday morning a glorious thing happened here. Rain fell from the sky. . . Aaron and I even went out and walked in the rain. In the evening, I laid in bed and listened to the pitter patter of the rain. This morning it was still raining, and as I type this afternoon, I can hear the water continuing to fall.
Rain doesn’t show up so well in pictures, so I took a shot of the welcomed water on my rose vine. No roses this time of year, so the leaf will have to do. . .
No, that water is “not” from the hose, but from the sky! I am thankful for the rain, but also awed at its power. It can give life as well as death. The last I read there were about 600 deaths in the Philippines as a result of the storms that passed through there this past few weeks. Fortunately none of my family members living there were hurt. Yes, some experienced property damage, but at least they are all safe.
Days like these make me reflect on my life and how blessed I have been. For the most part of my life I have lived rather comfortably. While the floods in the Philippines got so high that people had to stand on their rooftops to get out of the water, this is the minor commotion we have here with the rain.
Part of our neighbor’s tree fell during the rain. It just happened this morning and already there are workers outside ready to clean it up. And I think of those in other parts of the world and how long it takes for assistance to get to them. It’s as if our lives are a luck of the draw. We don’t choose where we are born, but where we are born (and who our parents, family, and friends are) can greatly affect how comfortable our lives will be.
Even amidst our drought, we still have access to a lovely variety of organic produce. Here’s part of the nice produce I got at the farmer’s market. They had a much larger variety than I needed.
And interestingly, during the heavy fires when our weather got kinda hot and muggy the fruit in my parents’ backyard ripened quickly and we got to taste their first harvest of their sapodilla tree. My parents call it custard apple, which is a very fitting name because it tastes just like custard.
Also during this drought we managed to grow a little produce in our yard. Here are a few old pics I found in my camera, which were taken a few months ago when our first fruits were starting to come in. The first fruits are always a small batch. Here’s the first batch of crookneck squash. . .
A couple varieties of string beans.
A few varieties of chili peppers.
Our Mandarin orange tree is loading up with fruit. We also managed to grow a bunch of herbs this time around, but I’m too lazy to upload all those pictures. . .
The bottom line for me on this day of contemplation is that God continues to bless us and care for us. There’s so much more to be thankful for. Today it’s the rain as well as many other things. I think I’ll go and see what my boys are up to and enjoy their company for now.
Marlakins
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10.06.09
Posted in food and restaurants, knitting and crocheting at 2:41 pm by Administrator
I try to keep up with the blog, but the days just seem to get away from me. And really, it’s not like I “have” to blog or else, so why beat myself up for falling behind? Anyway, now that I have a moment, I’ll just share a few of the stuffs that’s been keeping me busy.
This weekend my boys and I visited The Sound of China for their Moon Festival. It was a small gathering where food was served and students and teachers played the guzheng (Chinese zither). My two younger boys have been trying to learn to play this so I thought it would be a good chance for them to see what can be done on one of those. I’m glad we went, too, as some of them were quite good! Here’s a pic of the first gal who played. She was actually quite good.
The next person to play was one of the teachers, and I believe the owner of this store. She was also quite good.
And a duet.
To hear what one of these zithers sound like there are quite a few examples on YouTube. Here’s one example.
Another thing we did was try out M Cafe on Melrose. I would say the food was only so-so. Brian’s dish seemed to be more tasty than mine. He had some Korean bowl of some sort.
I had a rare tuna sandwich, which was rather bland tasting. . .
The boys has teriyaki bowls, one cod, one salmon, and one tofu. The report for those were also so-so. Sadly, they looked much yummier than they tasted. . .
Amongst other things, I’ve still been knitting. A friend asked me to knit up a chemo hat for her daughter. I found this pattern for free online at Elann.com. I just did it up in one color instead of two. I used 100% wool on US 7 needles. Here’s what it looked like in progress.
Here it is completed.
I also finished up a weeks’ supply of ankle socks for Brian per his request. I just used some of my stash yarn. He’s modeling one pair, heh, with the others laid out in front.
Brian’s been wearing them all week now, and “claims” that his feet feel like they are getting a massage, ha! Well, I’m glad he likes them especially since although they are made from my stash yarn, they are knit to his specifications. My babette blanket has been on hold, but I think I may attack it again soon, so more pictures might be following shortly.
And that’s all for now! I think Socktober has started, but hey, I’ve already been knitting socks like crazy. And besides the boys are back in school, so will have to focus on those kinds of things for now.
Marlakins
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