I refuse to call this post "food for thought."

Hello class. This is not my official blog entry, just a couple of things I came across today about food I thought I might share.

So, this first video is just frightening. Think back: do you think when you were in first grade you'd be able to identify basic vegetables? I would really like to think so.

"Settling the Soy Controversy"

I find the title of this article somewhat laughable. The thing about nutrition science is that it's very mysterious. Scientists to this day have only a foggy understanding of how food interacts with the body. Further, we know that food reacts with every individual differently on a genetic level. Finally, this article simply makes no sense to me in parts. They say that soy is in everything we eat, and then they talk about people getting very little soy in their diet. Also, they don't say anything about the effect soy has on raising estrogen levels (the implication being that women already high in estrogen might want to stay away from soy.) Anyway, it's an interesting article, but just keep in mind, just because it's in print doesn't make it the final word.

Fast Food Nation: Intro

Finally, here's the reading I want you to do for Monday. Remember we'll be doing an in-class write on this so don't blow it off. I think you'll like it. It's f-u-n.

Emergency in the Brain

I wanted to wait to post my reflections on the stories so as not to influence your own posts, but then at the last minute I decided to share the beginning of this story I'm working on instead. Tell me honestly, class: would you keep reading a story that started this way?

Anyone at all concerned with moose preservation in Talkeetna, Alaska was gathered in Cindy Marshall’s apartment that fateful Saturday evening, some of them frozen in prayer position, asking God for anything but death – but oh, He works in mysterious ways.

Mary got to the place at eight, and opened the door to a room full of partygoers jumping out from behind furniture with a “Surpriii- oh it’s Mary.”

“Mark, hon, we really need to designate someone to watch who’s approaching the door – this is getting a little ridiculous. Mary! How are you! Welcome to the party!” Cindy was all smiles and party dress as she approached Mary at the door.

The apartment looked like a Jetson’s estate sale, hard wood floors and orange throw rugs that grew and pulsated under foot, a fichus in the corner with veins crawling up the wall and red light bulbs poking out of the greenery like little eyes – but then, Mary had taken drugs so it was impossible to know whether this was a weird set up or perfectly routine.

“I don’t understand,” Mary said. “Is this a surprise party?”

“Oh, no wonder!” Cindy guffawed. “You didn’t know! That is hilarious.”

“Aye Matey,” Cindy’s companion Mark said. “Can I get ye something to drink?” He had one arm wrapped up in his sweater, his lips curled, an invisible parrot. Mary sussed the whole thing out. Mark wasn’t actually a pirate; he was just pretending to be one, probably per some joke thrown out earlier in the night. Mary prided herself on her skillful inference.

“I’ll have a…” she paused to note the drugs rumbling in her stomach set to polish rocks. “Do you have any ginger ale?”

“Adorable,” Cindy said. “Just adorable.”

Bullet in the Brain! Emergency!

I'd like to present you with two fabulous short stories. Your assignment is to read one or both and write about them. Both would be great. They're both excellent and short and funny and true, but you need only write on one of them. For the writing assignment you can choose to either:

1. Write a short imitation of the story - i.e. write your own story in the style/spirit of whichever one you've chosen. Be sure to tell me which one you're modeling so I know.
2. Write an analysis of one of the stories. What do you think it means? What does it mean to you? What are the story's strengths? Think about how the story is shaped and what it's trying to say. What details in particular resonated with you? If you didn't like it, specifically why not. Cite examples.

Story 1: Bullet in the Brain by Tobias Wolff.

This story is available in both print format and as an audio file.

audio version

text only

Story 2: Emergency by Denis Johnson

audio

I couldn't find this online in print - you can only listen to the audio file, but it's worth it. Coincidentally, it's discussed and read by Tobias Wolff, author of Bullet in the Brain. If you want to seek out the print version, it's in a collection called Jesus' Son. You may also be familiar with the film version. (Extremely awesome movie, rent it today!)

This post is due monday night at midnight. You should also have commented on our last post re: The American Male, Age 10 by this time.

Oh, I was 10 once too you know.

It's 1992 and I'm ten years old. Let's say it's summer, mid afternoon and I'm walking down to the end of my street where my friend Dylan lives. The night before we drew up big plans to build an airplane in his backyard. The pavement is hot but I am not into wearing shoes. I have to sort of skip to keep the bottoms of my feet from burning off, and when that doesn't work, I hop back and forth from street to grass.

When I finally arrive it seems like there's a hundred kids in Dylan's yard, playing soccer. There's Dylan's older brother Jason, who's 11 and snobby, and Chris, who's two years old and loud and annoying. Michael and Dan are there from next door, plus Becky and Lindsey, although I don't know why because they hate soccer and I hate when one or both of them get stuck on my team. Dylan's mom Pam is outside, and she yells at me for not bringing shoes to the soccer game. "I didn't know there was gonna be a soccer game," I say. "I thought we were building an airplane."

Someone suggests boys against girls, and we lose. It's dark outside when I finally hobble home, my spirit broken, grass stained, and blisters on my feet.

Chuck Klosterman Interviews Val Kilmer

Over the weekend, I'd like you to read this article and come prepared to discuss it on Monday. Remember to think about the interview process and how it does (and does not) relate to your own profile pieces.

Crazy Things Seem Normal, Normal Things Seem Crazy.

American Male, Age 10

You can find your reading assignment for the week here:

American Male: Age 10, by Susan Orlean

Enneagram post, revised

So, the enneagram. Let me begin with a (very) brief overview of how the system works. There are nine basic types, denoted by number. The number system is nominal, meaning they're all created equal, one type isn't better than any other, (one is not greater than three, etc.) Another thing that I didn't mention in class is that every type has a subtype or "wing" - and the wing will always be either lower or higher than your type. Since I'm a type four, I can have either a three wing or a five wing, and this wing helps to temper and further delineate me as a type four. When you take the test, it will also tell you what your wing is (I think.) Further, there are always different levels of health within every type. The healthier we are as people, the more we learn how to take virtues from all the different types to make a more well rounded person. But this is a lot of jargon for you to explore on your own, and I hope you do.

So about me. Like I said, I'm a type 4, and I have a 5 wing. 4w5 is how we present it in ennea-speak. The basic deal with type 4's is that we feel special, sensitive, moody, sectioned off from the rest of society. We are often artists, or in my case, writers. We feel like we need to create art in order to be understood, and we navigate the world chiefly through our emotions. We tend to be narcissistic at worst, and deeply compassionate for others at best. My 5 wing tends to make me more introverted and introspective than if I had a 3 wing. The 3 wing would make me more expressive and extroverted, but alas, no. The goal for any 4 in life is to learn how to get out of our heads, and to be productive in our art. 4's have a tendency to sit around fantasizing about being great artists as opposed to doing the work to actually get them there. When you sit down to analyze your own type, it's good to think about the different strengths and weaknesses that your type has to offer, and identify the ways you can improve. Some of my favorite/famous 4's include, but are not limited to: Thom Yorke of Radiohead, the recently deceased J.D. Salinger, William Shakespeare, Fiona Apple, Bob Dylan, and on and on.

Now, what do I think about all this? Obviously I'm into the enneagram, otherwise I wouldn't have assigned it. I've been studying this system since high school. First my friend David got into it, and then he converted me, and soon all of my friends at school knew what their type was. It tends to really interest some people and seriously annoy others. When I came to Montana I tried to keep the information to myself, but alas, I couldn't keep it contained, and now everyone in the MFA program knows what type they are thanks to me (and also my roommate, a 4w3. She adopted it early on and taught it to everyone else.) The reason I want all of us to learn it is that I just want to give us a collective vocabulary on how to deal with ourselves and others. Further, you may or may not find it useful to know your partner's type when it comes time to interview them for the profile piece. Knowing your own type helps you improve as a person; knowing the types of your friends and family around you will help you relate to them. We often assume that everyone thinks the same as us - the enneagram, or indeed any personality type system helps us appreciate each other's differences. I look forward to reading all about your results.

Again, I'd like these posted by Sunday at midnight. Any earlier postings would be greatly appreciated as I'm really looking forward to reading these!

similarminds.com

go here. click on the first link, enneagram personality tests > under the "ennagram tests" header, click on "advanced test" - email yourself the results page.

9types.com

Once you get your test results, you can read bulleted information about the different types here to determine if you think the test is right.

wikipedia.com

Wikipedia isn't always a great source, but for the kind of pop psychology we're dealing with here, its got decent information that I trust.

Please do further research on your own for different sources. There are also books on the subject. The big authors in Enneagram land are Helen Palmer and Don Richard Riso. Good luck, friends.