Food Inc- Saw it!

On Saturday, Dan and I saw the film "Food Inc." at an independant movie theatre in SoHo. I know the film has a very limited release, but I urge all of my readers to PLEASE remember to rent it when it comes out on video. I posted the trailer a few days ago, and more information can be found at the website HERE

This film lifts the veil on the American food industry and exposes how our food supply is now controlled by just a handful of huge corporations that often put profit ahead of the consumer's health and safety. It was an absolute eye-opening experience, and it's changed the way I think about processed food, meats, produce, and the chemicals that I've (unknowingly!) been injecting into my body. The movie is NOT a gore fest trying to scare you into never going near a steak again- it doesn't focus on that stuff. Instead, the information is presented very thoughtfully, and we are shown some shocking truths about the way our food is produced, how Americans eat, and where we are headed from here.

When you walk through the supermarket, you see labels on the food everywhere that try to perpetuate the image of a quaint little midwestern farm, with a red barn and a picket fence. In actuality, our food is raised on massive factory farms and mega industrial plants. The system is more productive and ever, and allows us the CHEAPEST, and most affordable food that our society has ever known- but at what COST to our health? Farmers are afraid to speak out, at the fear of lawsuits from the massive corporations that sustain them.

It's dangerous to have a national food system that is controlled by powerful corporations that don't WANT you to see how your food is made, think about where it comes from, or criticize their processes. The simple process of planting and harvesting food has become so complex and mutated through antibiotics, genetic lab-created food, and chemicals.

The film goes inside a chicken farm and we get to see the unethical things that antibiotics and high-tech breeding are doing to these animals. It used to take a chick 3 months to grow into adulthood- now it takes about 40 days. The chickens have massive oversized breasts, because Americans want white meat chicken more than dark meat. These chickens are so deformed that many cannot even stand because of the weight of these massive breasts and malformations, and a significant amount of them die before they are even brought to the market. The farmer who runs the chicken farm is now IMMUNE to antibiotics because of the amount of antibiotics that these chickens have injected into their food just to keep them alive long enough to slaughter them. After giving the interview for this tour, Tyson dropped her contract and she lost everything just for talking about it and exposing these conditions in the film.

What's empowering is that the consumer DOES yield the power to change this, and we each have the opportunity to VOTE on this system 3 times a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner! Check out this film, consider paying a bit extra for the better health of your family and your children, and purchase organic food items at ANY opportunity. Support small local farms and farmers markets!

On second thought...

Good thing they have to post the calorie content by law here in NYC. 470 calories for a cheesecake factory cupcake? Never mind... I'll pass!

White girl

Today, Dan and I ventured OFF the island of Manhattan (a rareity) to BROOKLYN to visit a friend at a house party. His apartment is 10x the size of anything you'd find in Manhattan and a fifth of the price. That's why people try to convince us to move there!

Not only were me and my husband confused and disoriented in this "strange and foreign land", but we also wandered into this puerto rican PARADE! Dan was cracking up because I was literally the whitest person there and people were staring me up and down as we walked down the block-hilarious! Hey, I love Puerto Rico, but I sure wasn't fooling the locals into looking like I belonged there LOL!

-- Posted From My iPhone

Chipmunks

This guy has a great flickr album with pictures of CHIPMUNKS that he somehow be-friended and managed to pose for pictures with his star wars figures.

Check out the full slideshow HERE Oh, and while your at it, check out some of his other photos too- he's good!

surviving the world

Here's a fun website called "Surviving the World." The idea is, this guy has a chalkboard, and every day, he posts a daily "tip" for how to survive every day life. Obviously, it's meant to be sarcastic, but some of them are downright TRUE and actually SHOULD be lessons taught to people on how to survive daily life.

Check out the website: http://www.survivingtheworld.net

You can click on the buttons at the top to start at the beginning and then read through them by hitting "next", or you can choose one at random.

Everything is Amazing and nobody is happy

Here's a great clip found by my friend Steve. Really puts it in perspective, right??=

Long live the King

Michael Jackson meant so much to me and Dan. Each time I hear one of his songs, I get that happy little jump of excitement, and I am always amazed that his music is just as relevant today as it was 27 or more years ago when he pushed the record button.

We were eagerly anticipating attending his concert in London on August 28th. Back in January, we set the alarm for 3am NYC time so that we could buy pre-sale tickets, and both of us actually CRIED a bit when we succeeded in getting not only 2 tickets to his show, but 2 FRONT SECTION tickets. We were beyond ecstatic, and since that day, we've been counting down the days until we'd get to see the KING perform live in London.

Dan has a wonderful story of his first memory of Michael Jackson. He was about 8 years old when Billie Jean came out and the video premiered on MTV. He was at a family member's house because he didn't have tv in his home. When the video started, and he saw Michael start to dance, he says a feeling came over him and he can remember just really not knowing what to do. He was so excited, he ran up to the tv, and immediately started trying to copy his moves- moves that people had never seen before, and dance to the beats that no one had HEARD before. He describes a feeling that he thought he was going to DIE- he was just so overwhelmed and couldn't contain his excitement and this rush of feelings that came over him when he watched the King of Pop for the first time.

I was too young to remember it happening live, but I LOVE watching the video of when Michael Jackson does the moonwalk for the first time. Wow, it makes me cry every time. No one had ever seen anything like that in history. He created it, and it became the basis for a whole exploration of dance and moving the human body in ways we'd never even considered before.

I insist that you watch the entire performance HERE. Think about it in the context of the time: this is 1983. This is his FIRST solo performance- before this, he was performing in the Jackson 5. Think about this costume, the hat, the GLOVE, standing up on his toes like that. This audience couldn't even PROCESS what they were seeing and hearing! That's art. That's inspired art and a sincere desire to manifest genuine music and performances.

Michael Jackson had many failures as a man, but as an ARTIST, he was the KING. He has repeatedly denied plastic surgery, although it's always been evident that his appearance has drastically changed over the years. I really believe that he had body dysmorphic disorders and dealt with these issues through surgery instead of getting help to heal himself on the inside. He was abused as a child, and he was made his large family's meal ticket from a very young age- events which I think led him to have a distorted view of himself permanently as a little child instead of a man. His massive world wide fame was so agressive that I feel it brutally altered who he really is, and because of this fame, he started to break down.

Aside from his personal issues, we must focus on his impact on global culture and music as we know it today. He is SO important in the history of music, and there will never be anyone, EVER that will do the things for music that he has done. His videos were the first to explore issues like poverty, erasing racial divides, embracing diversity, and developed a love for music in all of us. I'm still kind of in a numb state about the whole thing. I really can't wrap my mind around the fact that he's gone. GONE, but certainly not forgotten.

It will be really painful when August 28th comes and goes because I know that all day we will be considering that at that time, we SHOULD be watching Michael walk out on stage, screaming for him and I'm certain I would be crying at the intensity of the whole experience. The one thing that really means a lot to me is that he really MUST have had a meaningful impact on both Dan and my life because just purchasing the tickets moved us both to tears.

My heart breaks for his family, his 3 young children who are about to have their lives turned upside down, and I share in the grief of all of his fans around the world. May you finally have peace, Michael.

Fred & Friends

New favorite store alert! Check out all the fun stuff at Fred & Friends!

One of my favorites has to be this plate with a mirror built into it. No more smiling with spinach stuck in your teeth! Also on my list, the kids plates, and the black bar shades. You'll know what I'm talking about when you check out the website! Turns out they sell some of this stuff at the Virgin Music store in Times Square...hmmm.... is it worth braving the tourists at Times Square for?

what's cooking in my closet

Last night I had an irresistible urge to bake something. This urge doesn’t come often anymore, since we moved to Manhattan and our kitchen (pictured above, in the header) is the size of most people’s bathroom closets. Still, I found this recipe from Emeril Legasse and it just looked SO good, I had to try it! I used to cook and bake for every meal, and I really enjoy it- but man, this kitchen is just NOT a functional kitchen. Anyway, I got to work getting the ingredients at the market down the street, brought everything back to the apt, and then had to move the microwave, the garbage can, and the toaster out into the living room so that I could cook! : )

These white chocolate macadamia nut blondies came out GREAT but the ingredients I needed at the market cost me $17 so they were kinda expensive to make. Maybe that’s just NYC prices, though: here’s what I bought that wasn’t in my pantry:

Small box of brown sugar
White chocolate chips
Unsalted organic butter
Macadamia nuts (this was the most expensive item: $8.49 for a small jar!)

The rest of the ingredients I had at home, but MAN! 4 items for $17? See, this is another reason why I DON’T bake very often! It’s cheaper to just walk to Magnolia bakery or whole foods for some fresh from the oven organic baked goods.

Anyway, if you live in a location where grocery prices are a bit cheaper than mine, feel free to print out this recipe and try it! They’re fantastic! You can check out the original recipe found at THIS WEBSITE

Macadamia White Chip Blondies

4 oz butter, unsalted (114 grams)
–3/4 cup light brown sugar (160 grams)
1 large egg1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract (8 ml)
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour (190 grams) – if no scale, fluff, spoon gently, sweep – too much flour will make these dry.
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (2 ml)
1/8 teaspoon salt (pinch)
3/4 cup white chocolate chips (a few more if you want)
1/2 cup lightly toasted or “Chef Ready” macadamia nuts**

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (176 C). Line an 8 inch metal pan with foil and spray bottom only with cooking spray.

Cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl using high speed of an electric mixer. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the batter in 3 parts, mixing after each part. Before the flour is fully mixed, add the chips and nuts and mix until flour is incorporated and chips are well mixed. Batter will be thick. Pour the batter to the pan and place in the preheated oven.

Bake for 25 or until blondies appear set. Let them cool completely, then lift from the pan and cut into 12 bars.

documentary: Food Inc.

Looks like a fascinating film- can't wait to see it! The preview sure made me think twice about what I buy. Guess I need to head down to the Union Square Farmer's market on Sundays a bit more often!

how well do you know?

Even if you've been dating or married for years, some of your partner's answers might amaze you! Here's some good questions to ask to help find out more about the person you're stuck with! :) Ask them at dinner tonight!

1. If someone gave you $1,000,000 tomorrow what would you do?

2. What makes you sad?

3. What is your favorite song?

4. What reminds you of our first date?

5. What color looks best on me?

6. If you had to plan a FREE date night, where would we go, and what would we do?

7. What is your favorite meal that I make?

8. If you had to pack in ten minutes to leave for ten years, what would you take?

lunchtime in Times Lawn

See how the tourists enjoy their broken down plastic lawnchairs? They think it's just GREAT! I'm still just in shock that THIS is what Times Square looks like now. I can't get used to it! It's wierd, isn't it?