Spring break 2010!

Spring break really makes sloths of us all! I've just spent some time reading your latest blog posts, and let me just say generally that they are excellent and I am pleased with the high volume of participation. I should yell at you more often.

So I told you I'd write and give you some things to think about, but I'm not so sure if I, even I am capable of thinking about anything on this break. Still.

1. Think about what you want to write your op-eds on. We're going to need to get started on them right away on Monday so no time for lollygagging.

2. Like I mentioned in class, if you'd like to write a bonus blog post over break, that would rock. I think I'll probably be sharing some experiences I've had so far later in the week. This is a chance to just sort of have fun and write for the sake of writing. Writing is fun. It lets us know how we think and feel about things and it gives us a chance to share hilarious stories and to be understood by our friends and peers. No real requirements here, just write something fun and engaging and true to you. Please have those up by Sunday night (or Monday BEFORE class. There it is in print, no ambiguity.)

3. I feel like a list should have at least 3 items on it.

Still having a blast grading your research papers! Only have a few done but I have to say, I'm really impressed with what I've seen so far. This is that horrible time in the semester when I fall disgustingly in love with all of you, like you're a basket of puppies. I don't know if this happens to all teachers or if this is a unique to Molly problem. Anyway, thanks a lot for that. Geez.

Three Op-Eds I read in minutes flat.

Professors have a responsibility to lead by questioning

This article basically says that University teachers aren't just free to but actually should voice their opinions on controversial topics. The article elucidates a basic debate in education: should teachers attempt to be unbiased, or is that both impossible and imprudent? You can guess where I stand: I can't help but tell you what I think. Do teachers have a responsibility to share their opinions, though? I don't know.

MTV and the archetypal college spring break

This is heavy on random opinion spouting and light on researched facts, but I found the writing to be delightful and the argument convincing. I'm against any form of culturally sanctioned, scheduled drinking. I think drinking and hanging out and having fun should be undertaken with reverence and a free will. What are your plans this spring break?

The Story of Bottled Water: Fear, Manufactured Demand and a $10,000 Sandwich

Today is apparently "world water day" and so I present to you this informative and stimulating article on the destructive force that is the bottled water industry. Basically the author states that bottled water costs too much money, the plastic is toxic, and it's not safer or cleaner than most tap water anyway. Do you remember the water bottle rule I wrote into the syllabus at the beginning of the semester? This article reinforces my beliefs!

Resources for your Research Paper

Here's a ragtag collection of material I've collected for you re: your research papers. You are so welcome.

Purdue OWL - MLA guide.

This site has a lot of information regarding works cited, basic paper formatting, etc.

Duke University Library - MLA guide.

Weirdly, information on this topic varies, overlaps, etc. An alternate source.

MLA citation generator.

You can use this site to a lmited degree to automatically generate citations for you, but it can be a little nutty so you should always double check whatever it spits back at you.

Online Paper Grader.

Somebody sent me this the other day. I haven't really used it yet. Allegedly you can paste your paper into it and it will tell you all sorts of things that are wrong. Let me know how this works if you use it.

Where might we go for additional information, you might ask?

• Use the Every Day Writer pages 369-419 to look up specific citation/formatting questions. Particularly, the student essay sample, pages 410-419 is a real hoot.
• Chapters 11 and 12 of The Curious Writer are all about writing a research paper. Check it out why not.

Writing the sketch:

You will be bringing a sketch of your personal research paper to class this Wednesday. Instructions plus an example sketch are available in The Curious Writer page 459.

That's all for now. Check back throughout the week as I may add additional information/resources. Writing this paper is going to be so awesome you guys.

Class business

Hello class. As promised, here's that link to the Sustainability site put together by the library. If you go to the "sustainability" tab you can find that research log I told you to model your blog posts on.

To review, I want 5 sources that you've explored and considered for your site and some brief comments about them, their efficacy, credibility, etc.

In retrospect I feel bad for making fun of my friend Travis in class on Monday. Having said that, here's one more sentence he left on my wall last week. I think he's trying to insult me?

See you all at conferences this week.

Personal Academic Essay Paper Topics

As in, write a paragraph on one and post it by Wednesday morning, so we'll be ready to start researching in class.

Also be sure to look through your classmates blog posts regarding food and have some conversations about it. No promises, but you might actually enjoy yourself.

I've been raw for over 24 hours, and I think it's going well enough. I'm still hungry.

A Raw Vegan Diet

According to about.com, a raw vegan diet includes fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. The simple, golden rule is that raw foodists don't cook their food. Food can be heated or "dehydrated" to temperatures no more than 15 degrees farenheit. For a raw foodist, the microwave, the stove, and the backyard barbeque are all obsolete. Raw foodists believe that the integrity of the food we eat is compromised when exposed to high temperatures, and that altering the food in this way can deplete most of the foods nutrition at best, and at worst can in fact be harmful to the body. Wikipedia puts it thusly: "Raw foodist believe that digestive enzymes aid digestion. Heating food above 104-120 degrees Fahrenheit degrades or destroys these enzymes in food." (See source here.) Finally, they believe that cooked and processed food contain something called "excite o toxins" which, despite the enticing name, are apparently very bad. These are the facts.

So, class. It's worth noting that it was very difficult for me to find straight up information on this phenomenon on the Internet that didn't seem to have some sort of "economic bias." By that I mean that most websites that provide information on raw food are also trying to sell something. Raw food cookbooks, videos, bulk nuts and seeds, etc. It's not to say that their information is incorrect, but still, we have to be skeptical.

I've been dabbling with raw food for a little over a year now. There are a lot of benefits to eating this way, but it's also an extremely difficult lifestyle to maintain long term. (Say goodbye to eating in restaurants. Say goodbye to alcohol...eek!) But the one time I did maintain a 100% raw lifestyle (lasted two weeks) I must say, it was amazing. After the first couple of days of gross detoxicity (headaches, nausea, depression, etc.) I reached a sweet spot. By the end of the two weeks I felt euphoric. I lost 10 pounds, my nails got stronger, I could pick up cars with one hand... then I went to a wedding, ate cake, drank liquor, and that was the end of that.

I may or may not attempt to go raw for the entire month of March. I'm drinking a spinach, banana, hemp seed, orange juice, wheatgrass smoothie this morning, so we're off to a good start. Also, I'm hungry.

(The picture is of a "raw vegan taco wrap" I made last week. The "meat" consists of almonds, chili powder, olive oil, etc. crushed in a food processor. The "cheese" is cashews, cilantro, lemon, etc. crushed in food processor. The wrap is a collard green and it's garnished with tomato and avocado. Surprisingly filling and delicious!)