So Long, Tootsie Roll

Mom gave me a bag of assorted Tootsie Roll candies this week. I've been eating one, then toying with the idea of throwing the whole bag in the trash, then eating one, then almost throwing them all away.

They are still here.


But not for long.

I grabbed the bag today to see what goes into the small things.

I saw: "Sugar, corn syrup, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, condensed skim milk, cocoa, whey, soya lechithin, artificial and natural flavors".

I wondered: what could partially hydrogenated soybean oil?

So,
I googled it.

First result:
Consuming partially hydrogenated oils is like inhaling cigarette smoke. They will kill you -- slowly, over time, but as surely as you breathe. And in the meantime, they will make you fat!

Yes, that's trans fats. There are more fucked up oils in tootsie rolls than milk or chocolate, not to mention whey.

Unlike butter or virgin coconut oil, hydrogenated oils contain high levels of trans fats. A trans fat is an otherwise normal fatty acid that has been "transmogrified", by high-heat processing of a free oil. The fatty acids can be double-linked, cross-linked, bond-shifted, twisted, or messed up in a variety of other ways.

The problem with trans fats is that while the "business end" (the chemically active part) is messed up, the "anchor end" (the part that is attached to the cell wall) is unchanged. So they take up their position in the cell wall, like a guard on the fortress wall. But like a bad guard, they don't do their job! They let foreign invaders pass unchallenged, and they stop supplies at the gates instead of letting them in.

In short, trans fats are poisons, just like arsenic or cyanide. They interfere with the metabolic processes of life by taking the place of a natural substance that performs a critical function. And that is the definition of a poison. Your body has no defense against them, because they never even existed in our two billion years of evolution -- so we've never had the need or the opportunity to evolve a defense against them.

The Tootsie Poison Rolls are in the trash. I won't eat my death that way.


I'm scared, and cooking for myself.

Where i be, bee.

New school schedule. It is as follows.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday:
Modern Irish Literature- 10:00-10:50
Early American Literature- 11:00-11:50
French: Composition & Conversation- 12:00-12:50

Tuesday, Thursday:
Advanced Composition- 9:30-10:45
Introduction to the Study of Literature- 11:00-12:15
Advanced Creative Writing Poetry/Senior Seminar- 1:00-3:45 (Tuesday only)








It looks like this in iCal. See?



So now you know.

Baack to Schoool.

School started yesterday. Again.

Have been working lots.

.stol gnikrow neeb evaH.




I feel like this.

55+ is no way to live.
But, you all've done that too.
Now it's my turn.

(Money, money.)

The Serial Hero

I'm committing myself to studying and enjoying two epics this summer- the television show LOST and HARRY POTTER.




I have given the show Lost the time it requires (and a chance) in order to study J. J. Abrams at work. He did great in Alias, but Lost's storyline seems to be pushing TV forward. While any TV show, especially that which is dramatic and scary, is unusual for me, but I'm giving it a go. Lost is demanding attention from its viewers, bringing characters' lives alarmingly close, and including minute, minute details (a continuing result of the fabulous invention of TV on DVD). It is a challenge to watch, to follow- it's work. And, how complete it is- being written entirely, planned and connected, giving people and experiences purpose. And how complex and mysterious. The themes of forgiveness, acceptance of a higher, yet ambiguous power, real purpose for human life, on television! All with characters who have failure, lies, and hidden disgraces! And of course some gratuitous scenes of nudity and near-nudity! There's a beautiful moment of near infinity when three of the women characters have a discussion in the face of doom in the 1st season's finale (I've watched 1.5 seasons)- each a different perspective the culminates in a Greek chorus of human searching. In that moment I signed on for the remainder; I'll finish the series.




I had read only 2.5 of Ms. Rowling's books (grade school) up to this point of my self-hood. A couple of weeks ago, I restarted. I'm on Prisoner of Azkabam now. I'll be done with the series by the time school starts in four weeks. Nick's got all the books and movies, so it's conveniently free. I dig. I'm impressed with J.K.'s ability to wraps lives and meanings together; she not only creates a world, but gives it a faith and purpose. I'm genuinely interested in it. The children (the heroes!) are so endearing, partly because of their human imperfection. Potter's a great read for me because it's such a break for me from my major's required reading (Let's just say that some of my professors pick books solely on the books' moral vacuousness or/and labyrinthine nihilism {too much meaningless incest}...). It's nice to see some real heart in the pain of wizard world.


Lost and Harry Potter seem to reveal information to the audience in the most tantalizing and necessary ways. They encourage the reader/viewer to follow in a search for something of meaning. If anything, they both are certainly thought out. Classic, classic human pain, struggle, and achievement.

Nick's not afraid to admit that he loves stories; I, and all of us, do too.

By the way:

Got a job- new job.


It's been a month, but I figured I should document it here.

So I work here:


At the two lovely locations of

the East End:


and Mt. Adams:


and love it.

(The pictures aren't mine; see Kokacoffee.com, darling.)

I worked 6am-11am at the Riverside drive locale this morning {commuter coffee and scones only}. And then 11am-4pm at the St. Gregory lounge {coffee, soups, pastries, and wraps/ciabatta/paninni}.

I'm beat.

Brace Yrself (Soul-Photograph)

Know me?
Know my iTunes Top 25 Playlist:



Here's some highlights.
(as this is only the most played songs in the last two years on my actual laptop, Josephine, not my iPod, Tzeitel, I'll give you the one's that are the most significant)

#1 Cat Power's Come On In My Kitchen
* from the All Tomorrow's Parties 1.1 Event curated by Sonic Youth.
Sultry, confusing, mind-mumbly.

#2 Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine
* the title track from her 2005 release.

#3 Map's by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
* from Fever to Tell.
Karen O.= The High Priestess of Sexual Soul Love.
(Musically impressive too)

#4 Elbow's Ribcage
* Cast of Thousands, 2003.
If you haven't heard of them, give them a listen. Robust, passionate, not afraid to be sad puppies, the men and minds are just brill. This CD's second last track ends with a huge crowd screaming "We still believe in love, so fuck you!"- Exactly, exactly.

#5 Voliere as played and arranged by Emmanuel Pahud and Jacky Terrasson
* Into the Blue (The first of the six tracks from this CD that comprise my top 25).
The two European jazz instrumentalists, on flute and piano, jammed on their favorite pieces and made a final arrangement on this stellar CD. It's possibly my all-time, take-it-to-an-island-if-it's-all-I-could-take pick. I had the pleasure of seeing Pahud perform with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra two years ago.

#8 K-Hole by CocoRosie
* From Noah's Ark, or "The Soundtrack to the Apocalypse" according to Nick.

#10 Joanna Newsom's The Sprout and the Bean
* The Milk-Eyed Mender.
Enough said, silly.

#13 Leisure Suite as whispered by Feist.
* From Let It Die.
The second of the six tracks on my top 25. Is her new record stronger...?

#21 So Stark (You're A Skyscraper) by Pavement
* The version from the "Watery, Domestic" EP, as collected by the Luxe & Reduxe Geffen release of Slanted and Enchanted (Disc 2). Stephen Malkmus, my wordsmith intelligentsia hero {"This is life / and it's flat/ and it's 6 and it's 8"}. Why can't this generation recognize them as the loving grandfathers of all and any independent music made today?

Well there's some of it.
Check that screen capture (it'll enlarge, if you click on it) for the rest of them: Yann Tierson, The Shins (regretfully- really, aren't they just elevator music?), and a fab Camera Obscura B-side.

Post yrs somewhere, love.