By Alan Waxman
A human city could be defined by the frequency and quality of meaningful encounters on a human scale. The following is examples from three kinds of cities: an East Bay park (EBMUD), San Francisco, and a suburb.
Walking in EBMUD or other large East Bay parks is an experience full of meaningful encounters at a very high frequency. The whole scene is constantly changing all the time: wind ripples through grass, trees shake, clouds move about the sky. Throughout the course of one day, shadows stretch across the ground and temperature changes (although that is true anywhere in the Bay Area). Paths are not straight; always there is new scenery and perspectives, colors, shapes and textures. The whole scene changes with each season, from green to yellow to golden brown to gray to green again. With each season there is a different smell. I encounter various plants, animals, and rocks that have meaning- oaks, redwoods, pines, tule, grasses, coyote brush, bays, poison oak, seasonal flowers, cows, turkeys, coyotes, bobcats, crows, rabbits, skunks, stones, cliffs, mud, barbed wire fences, and buildings, to name a few. These encounters become more and more meaningful as I become more educated about them and encounter them in different contexts. My means of experiencing these things are visual, auditory, and also bodily. I walk everywhere, up slopes, down slopes. I have to avoid poison oak and bushes carefully. Every few feet requires me to remain riveted. These are all reasons that EBMUD and the East Bay parks are a city of the most interesting kind.
Likewise, San Francisco is also full of meaningful encounters. SF is effected by changing temperature and weather constantly during the day and according to season, just like the East Bay parks. Also, there are many different buildings, each with posters and people near them, the people change according to time of day, and their clothes change according to season. Some people wish to speak to me, sell things to me, or even rob me. There are foods and smells and music in and around the buildings. There are also bookstores and libraries, among other things. Since most of the time I have to walk around the city, I feel slopes of hills in my muscles and the texture of pavement and grassy parks.
The suburb is a city with more distance involved. The house I might live in has seasonal plants, shapes, and colors. The television or computer also provide constantly changing pictures and stories. Drive- the streets aren't so interesting up close, but from the car window I can look at large vistas. I can no longer feel the air in this state except for on rare occasions, so weather is not such a meaningful encounter, only an obstacle. Danger is much more of an issue, so stress level is higher and it is more difficult to enjoy distant scenery. Watch the road at hand. Arrive at the supermarket. The supermarket itself is not so interesting a building but it is full of sounds and smells and people. However, these do not change according to season, only very vaguely, like with Halloween pumpkins or Christmas trees. Arrive at the office park. The office park has some plantings, lawns, and a few deciduous trees. The trees do change according to season, but the lawns don't. The building itself is not so interesting. Inside the building is an environment that actually never changes. Tinted windows obscure the view of the changing world, if I are lucky enough to have a window with a view. Air conditioning keeps a solid temperature, no need to change clothes; in fact, there is a dress code. Depending on my job, I might never actually do different tasks, only vaguely seasonal ones: data entry during the winter, cataloguing and phone calls during the summer. Most of the time spent experiencing this city is from the sitting position- in front of the television, in the car, at the computer or maybe even in an occasional bus. There is very little actual tactile experience of an interesting kind, only at the park or at home while cooking. The muscles are rarely used except if I go to the gym.
No wonder that when I grew up in a suburb I spent as much time as possible in the East Bay parks. EBMUD was located only a 5 minute walk from my house. I can also understand why so many suburban kids spend as much time as possible in cities like San Francisco or Berkeley.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Waste of Humanity
By Alan Waxman
At the University of Oregon there is currently a demonstration going on about slavery. On the grass in front of the Knight Library are hundreds of little flags, each meant to represent 6000 slaves. In total, demonstrators claim this represents 27 million slaves, the number of slaves in the world today. But as I experienced by watching Gomorra at the Bijou theatre, perhaps the number is far higher. The recent award winning Italian film, Gomorra, is directed by Matteo Garrone and based on the non-fiction book by journalist Roberto Saviano. By demonstrating forms of modern slavery and modern waste, the modern waste of humanity is vividly explored.
The final scene of the film uses the revolting metaphor of wasted food to show the way current system has perverted relationships between people and the land. In the final scene, Roberto, working for a toxic waste disposal corporation, visits the home of elderly land owners because it is on their land that the corporation will bury the toxic waste. Roberto's boss, Franco convinces the land owners that they need to bury the waste in order to cover their debts. After the discussion, Roberto wanders outside where he encounters an old woman in her garden. She says, "Luca, Luca,"she says, "I'm not Luca, I'm Roberto" he says, but she continues, as if her mind were in another time, "Luca, this garden is so dirty, it needs to be cleaned." Roberto and all the viewers of the film know that the garden, literally, and as metaphor for the entire society, is very dirty and that the system is only making it more and more poisoned. The old woman represents human responsibility to one another, to the past, the future, and to the land itself. As Roberto and Franco leave, the old woman gives him a box of peaches. Driving down the country road, Franco stops the car and exclaims, "Throw out the peaches, can't you tell they smell horrible." Roberto, just a cog in a wheel, steps out onto the land and dumps out the peaches on the side of the road, wasted. For him, as a man, this is the final and most revolting act. He quits his job and walks alone down the country road, leaving his boss and the corporation. There were several truly revolting scenes in the film depicting abuse and waste of humanity, but for some reason this final scene is one of the most powerful.
I think the film suggests that modern life is just as much a form of slavery as pre-modern life was for serfs and peasants, only now coupled with modern waste. Living amidst the decomposing rubble of modern architecture, people are isolated and their only choice is what corporation to become slave to. In Gomorra, Roberto acts as slave to Franco's toxic waste corporation until the final scene; Pasquale, a tailor who sincerely loves his work, is slave to his boss until he survives an attempt on his life and becomes a truck driver (another kind of slavery); and Toto, a 13 year old boy, becomes slave to one of the warring gangs. The only characters who refuse to be slaves are two boys, Marco and Ciro, who youthfully fantasize that they can be boss. As result, they are eventually lured into a trap and murdered. Modernity originally caught on among average people because they saw it as their way out of slavery as serfs and peasants. But as this movie vividly shows, people gave up one sort of slavery for another. And now, the organizations themselves, corporations, have become monsters of global proportions with incredible and poisonous waste.
I think it is fitting that the slow food movement originated in Italy. In Italy, love for food, land, and people is truly palpable for many, natives and tourists alike. But, as Gomorra details, what needs to be conserved in the slow food movement is the relationships between free people. This sort of democracy is one based upon care for people and land. But, is this different from corporate care or the care between master and slave?? You can taste the difference, and that is what slow food, and real democracy, is all about.
At the University of Oregon there is currently a demonstration going on about slavery. On the grass in front of the Knight Library are hundreds of little flags, each meant to represent 6000 slaves. In total, demonstrators claim this represents 27 million slaves, the number of slaves in the world today. But as I experienced by watching Gomorra at the Bijou theatre, perhaps the number is far higher. The recent award winning Italian film, Gomorra, is directed by Matteo Garrone and based on the non-fiction book by journalist Roberto Saviano. By demonstrating forms of modern slavery and modern waste, the modern waste of humanity is vividly explored.
The final scene of the film uses the revolting metaphor of wasted food to show the way current system has perverted relationships between people and the land. In the final scene, Roberto, working for a toxic waste disposal corporation, visits the home of elderly land owners because it is on their land that the corporation will bury the toxic waste. Roberto's boss, Franco convinces the land owners that they need to bury the waste in order to cover their debts. After the discussion, Roberto wanders outside where he encounters an old woman in her garden. She says, "Luca, Luca,"she says, "I'm not Luca, I'm Roberto" he says, but she continues, as if her mind were in another time, "Luca, this garden is so dirty, it needs to be cleaned." Roberto and all the viewers of the film know that the garden, literally, and as metaphor for the entire society, is very dirty and that the system is only making it more and more poisoned. The old woman represents human responsibility to one another, to the past, the future, and to the land itself. As Roberto and Franco leave, the old woman gives him a box of peaches. Driving down the country road, Franco stops the car and exclaims, "Throw out the peaches, can't you tell they smell horrible." Roberto, just a cog in a wheel, steps out onto the land and dumps out the peaches on the side of the road, wasted. For him, as a man, this is the final and most revolting act. He quits his job and walks alone down the country road, leaving his boss and the corporation. There were several truly revolting scenes in the film depicting abuse and waste of humanity, but for some reason this final scene is one of the most powerful.
I think the film suggests that modern life is just as much a form of slavery as pre-modern life was for serfs and peasants, only now coupled with modern waste. Living amidst the decomposing rubble of modern architecture, people are isolated and their only choice is what corporation to become slave to. In Gomorra, Roberto acts as slave to Franco's toxic waste corporation until the final scene; Pasquale, a tailor who sincerely loves his work, is slave to his boss until he survives an attempt on his life and becomes a truck driver (another kind of slavery); and Toto, a 13 year old boy, becomes slave to one of the warring gangs. The only characters who refuse to be slaves are two boys, Marco and Ciro, who youthfully fantasize that they can be boss. As result, they are eventually lured into a trap and murdered. Modernity originally caught on among average people because they saw it as their way out of slavery as serfs and peasants. But as this movie vividly shows, people gave up one sort of slavery for another. And now, the organizations themselves, corporations, have become monsters of global proportions with incredible and poisonous waste.
I think it is fitting that the slow food movement originated in Italy. In Italy, love for food, land, and people is truly palpable for many, natives and tourists alike. But, as Gomorra details, what needs to be conserved in the slow food movement is the relationships between free people. This sort of democracy is one based upon care for people and land. But, is this different from corporate care or the care between master and slave?? You can taste the difference, and that is what slow food, and real democracy, is all about.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Perspectives on Green-isms
I recently answered these questions for an interview. I'm republishing them here.
1. What is the state of the modern day environmental movement?
The environmental movement today is moving past its former emphasis on a strict black and white dichotomy of nature and culture towards a multi-centered vision with a global focus on climate change. There has been an explosion of local environmental groups and there are as many different varieties of environmentalists today as there are distinct personalities, value systems, and environments in the world. Despite differences, people everywhere are coming to the realization that in the recent past a great deal of resources and energy has been squandered and somebody must pay the price. We must all work together to make sure we have a stable and lush garden to offer the next generation.
2. What is your favorite book or article that you have read about the environment? What take-away message did it give you?
Although familiar with great books like Walden and My First Summer in the Sierra, I will introduce the Japanese author Yanagita Kunio (1875-1962) and his work, The Legends of Tôno. Yanagita worked directly at odds with the strong centralizing powers of global capitalism to celebrate the unique ways and knowledge of local people as a part of local ecology. The Legends of Tôno are a collection of tales that illustrate the wisdom in the old stories, songs, rivers, and mountains. In one story, a man descends into the dark depths of the river to encounter a dead girl who shares with him a secret to personal wealth. The lesson: one's true wealth is one’s sense of self-awareness and place, and this comes from one’s knowledge of folkways and landscape.
3. The U.S. accounts for 4.6% of the global population, almost 25% of global CO2 emissions. Who/what is to blame?
Everywhere in the world, people live full lives of happiness and suffering; the US is no exception, yet the system by which Americans live requires huge expenditures of energy from fossil fuels, releasing dangerous CO2. Fossil fuel, thousands of years of sunlight compressed into a powerful source of energy, is an extremely valuable and non-renewable resource that probably could have been safely used for thousands of generations. Unfortunately, well-meaning people believed human-kind could engineer a solution to any shortage. The result was the design of our current system of highways, commutes, SUV's, industrial agriculture, and the list goes on. Today, most Americans can barely scrape together a normal family life without squandering fossil fuel. We must come together and redesign our entire system to tackle this sad situation.
4. Do you consider yourself a radical? Why or why not?
I definitely consider myself a radical. One definition of "radical" is "of or going to the root or origin; fundamental" (Random House 2009), and in terms of chemistry, a "free radical" is a molecule or atom with an unpaired electron that is extremely reactive and which may serve in an enzyme or catalyst. I see myself in this catalyzing role. Dealing with the fundamentals of an issue, I don't seek to change the situation in my image, but to provide antagonistic parties a chance to interact and trade perspectives. During this catalyzing process, more balance can be brought to a potentially explosive situation.
5. David Brower, Chair of Earth Island Institute and often considered the "grandfather of the environmental movement" once stated: "We should never compromise. That's what we pay politicians for." Do you agree with Brower?
With so many environmental woes and so little time to address them we no longer can afford to be stubborn. I believe sincerely in the rights of humans, animals, plants, land, and atmosphere, but it is because of the interconnectedness of all creatures and places that everyone must compromise to ensure our basic rights. In today's environmental movement, every person must be an environmentalist; we cannot afford to alienate anyone. If a fisherman were to follow Brower's advice and continuously over-harvest fish because he is unwilling to compromise, then neither fish nor sustainable fishing would benefit in the long run.
6. Write a Letter to the Editor about an environmental issue you are passionate about.
Dear Editor,
Standing by the Columbia River, I dip a kupins digging spade into the native root field, or xnitpama, and lift out a full piyaxi plant (Lewisia rediviva or "Bitterroot"), one of the sacred foods of native plateau people. As with all of the sacred foods, the roots and their habitat must be carefully tended. Unfortunately, many root fields are converted to wheat farming; forever destroying native plant communities and eroding huge quantities of soil into streams each year, raising temperatures and impeding the life cycle of returning salmon, another sacred food. Because the wheat farmer rarely turns a profit or tastes his wheat, this change leaves little lasting benefit to local people, ecosystems, or economies. The next time you buy bread in the supermarket, consider the distinct flavors you might have tasted from the root fields now plowed under.
Sincerely,
Alan Waxman
1. What is the state of the modern day environmental movement?
The environmental movement today is moving past its former emphasis on a strict black and white dichotomy of nature and culture towards a multi-centered vision with a global focus on climate change. There has been an explosion of local environmental groups and there are as many different varieties of environmentalists today as there are distinct personalities, value systems, and environments in the world. Despite differences, people everywhere are coming to the realization that in the recent past a great deal of resources and energy has been squandered and somebody must pay the price. We must all work together to make sure we have a stable and lush garden to offer the next generation.
2. What is your favorite book or article that you have read about the environment? What take-away message did it give you?
Although familiar with great books like Walden and My First Summer in the Sierra, I will introduce the Japanese author Yanagita Kunio (1875-1962) and his work, The Legends of Tôno. Yanagita worked directly at odds with the strong centralizing powers of global capitalism to celebrate the unique ways and knowledge of local people as a part of local ecology. The Legends of Tôno are a collection of tales that illustrate the wisdom in the old stories, songs, rivers, and mountains. In one story, a man descends into the dark depths of the river to encounter a dead girl who shares with him a secret to personal wealth. The lesson: one's true wealth is one’s sense of self-awareness and place, and this comes from one’s knowledge of folkways and landscape.
3. The U.S. accounts for 4.6% of the global population, almost 25% of global CO2 emissions. Who/what is to blame?
Everywhere in the world, people live full lives of happiness and suffering; the US is no exception, yet the system by which Americans live requires huge expenditures of energy from fossil fuels, releasing dangerous CO2. Fossil fuel, thousands of years of sunlight compressed into a powerful source of energy, is an extremely valuable and non-renewable resource that probably could have been safely used for thousands of generations. Unfortunately, well-meaning people believed human-kind could engineer a solution to any shortage. The result was the design of our current system of highways, commutes, SUV's, industrial agriculture, and the list goes on. Today, most Americans can barely scrape together a normal family life without squandering fossil fuel. We must come together and redesign our entire system to tackle this sad situation.
4. Do you consider yourself a radical? Why or why not?
I definitely consider myself a radical. One definition of "radical" is "of or going to the root or origin; fundamental" (Random House 2009), and in terms of chemistry, a "free radical" is a molecule or atom with an unpaired electron that is extremely reactive and which may serve in an enzyme or catalyst. I see myself in this catalyzing role. Dealing with the fundamentals of an issue, I don't seek to change the situation in my image, but to provide antagonistic parties a chance to interact and trade perspectives. During this catalyzing process, more balance can be brought to a potentially explosive situation.
5. David Brower, Chair of Earth Island Institute and often considered the "grandfather of the environmental movement" once stated: "We should never compromise. That's what we pay politicians for." Do you agree with Brower?
With so many environmental woes and so little time to address them we no longer can afford to be stubborn. I believe sincerely in the rights of humans, animals, plants, land, and atmosphere, but it is because of the interconnectedness of all creatures and places that everyone must compromise to ensure our basic rights. In today's environmental movement, every person must be an environmentalist; we cannot afford to alienate anyone. If a fisherman were to follow Brower's advice and continuously over-harvest fish because he is unwilling to compromise, then neither fish nor sustainable fishing would benefit in the long run.
6. Write a Letter to the Editor about an environmental issue you are passionate about.
Dear Editor,
Standing by the Columbia River, I dip a kupins digging spade into the native root field, or xnitpama, and lift out a full piyaxi plant (Lewisia rediviva or "Bitterroot"), one of the sacred foods of native plateau people. As with all of the sacred foods, the roots and their habitat must be carefully tended. Unfortunately, many root fields are converted to wheat farming; forever destroying native plant communities and eroding huge quantities of soil into streams each year, raising temperatures and impeding the life cycle of returning salmon, another sacred food. Because the wheat farmer rarely turns a profit or tastes his wheat, this change leaves little lasting benefit to local people, ecosystems, or economies. The next time you buy bread in the supermarket, consider the distinct flavors you might have tasted from the root fields now plowed under.
Sincerely,
Alan Waxman
Friday, January 9, 2009
First Encounter with the British Museum
(Check it out on www.FlavorAware.com)
By Julia Somit
I sit in the grand hall at the back of the first exhibit, unable to walk any farther. The bench I slid onto is tucked away at the end of the long rooms. The hall is filled with broken pieces of Antiquity; it flows and ebbs, emptying people like the great tides of the oceans- swaying in echoing noise and muffled by sheer grandeur and magnitude. The height of the ceiling is awe-inspiring.
There is something here, seeped into the stones, the floor, the bench I sit on, and transcribed thickly into the air. A mixture of subsequence is a fog that melts slowly inside, like a slow sweet poison. A wonderful mixture of fear slides through like a shiver in the cold as ghostly as lives of those who’s work is before you on the walls, and those who have walked these halls for so long surround you. The breath of the past seems thrown upon you and drenches your insides with every breath.
The insignificance and short span of life is so easily displayed before your waking eyes that inspiration leaps into my mind and my pen begins to work out these words.
The majesty that is history, the very art of it, is so strong. In a subtextual and subconscious way it flows out of my hand through ink.
By Julia Somit
I sit in the grand hall at the back of the first exhibit, unable to walk any farther. The bench I slid onto is tucked away at the end of the long rooms. The hall is filled with broken pieces of Antiquity; it flows and ebbs, emptying people like the great tides of the oceans- swaying in echoing noise and muffled by sheer grandeur and magnitude. The height of the ceiling is awe-inspiring.
There is something here, seeped into the stones, the floor, the bench I sit on, and transcribed thickly into the air. A mixture of subsequence is a fog that melts slowly inside, like a slow sweet poison. A wonderful mixture of fear slides through like a shiver in the cold as ghostly as lives of those who’s work is before you on the walls, and those who have walked these halls for so long surround you. The breath of the past seems thrown upon you and drenches your insides with every breath.
The insignificance and short span of life is so easily displayed before your waking eyes that inspiration leaps into my mind and my pen begins to work out these words.
The majesty that is history, the very art of it, is so strong. In a subtextual and subconscious way it flows out of my hand through ink.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
The Walla Walla Food Scene
(check out this article at www.flavoraware.com)
By Karlis
The Walla Walla food scene is defined by three major factors: the conservative industrial farming traditions of the area, Seventh Day Adventist dietary practices, and gentrification.
Very little of the pre-settlement Walla Walla influence is present now. Damming of the Columbia and its tributaries have decimated the fish population, including the flooding of the famous Celilo Falls fishing site near present day Dalles. Remnants of that tradition, however, can be seen on the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla reservation near Pendlton, OR. Root feasts and other festivals are sometimes open to the public.
The Walla Walla river valley area is a major food agriculture area and the first center for Pacific Northwest's ag-finance. Several large agricultural banks are still based and located here. The valley also early on developed significant industrial size orchards and vegetable gardens to provide food for the miners at the booming Idaho silver and later also coal mines.
Several immigrant ethnic groups have shaped the Walla Walla ag industry. The Italians brought the sweet onions to the town. They also brought the initial wine industry here. Several Asian families have been growing vegetables for the local market since late 19th century. Most large landowners growing wheat are Anglo-Saxon protestants, but there are exceptions and there are farmers here from many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
Roll out on the small roads around Walla Walla to see the wheat, alfa-alfa, and onion fields, and stop at the numerous farm stands. Bicycles can be rented in downtown Walla Walla.
Seventh Day Adventists are a Christian denomination with roots in the 19th century. With the founding of the Walla Walla College (now, University) Walla Walla and College Place have become a major SDA center in the US. Among the main considerations for the Adventists is treating the body as the temple of God and consequently sacred. It should be protected and maintained well.
Good stewardship of the body includes not only abstinence from intoxicants, stimulants, and promiscuity, but also a healthy diet, particularly vegetarianism. Although the Adventists are not required to be vegetarian, the wast majority are. As a result, there is plenty of great vegetarian food available in the town. It is often meat substitute-heavy. His Garden Bakery, for example, offers almost only vegan baked goods and other goodies. Except for the wiener kiosk on First and Main, I can't think of a place that does not offer decent veggie options.
There is also Andy's Market, which offers a large selection of vegetarian bulk foods. Great food for bargain prices. And for a special experience, head to Washington's largest vegetarian dinning hall on the Walla Walla University's (“quad u” for the hip) campus.
And the last of the three factors- gentrification. The town has become quite some hip spot over the last two decades, and the food scene has been affected too. Whitehouse-Crawford offers you the over a hundred dollar dinner experience, if you feel like it. Safeway upgraded a few year back. There is even a farmer's market in the downtown on summer weekends, with live music too.
Wine industry drives the gentrification. The region strives to produce medium and high priced wines, and attracts the people with the means and the lifestyle.
Gentrified Walla Walla has also brought about changes in ag. Farms offering high-end products are cropping up ever year, but CSA still have waiting lists.
By Karlis
The Walla Walla food scene is defined by three major factors: the conservative industrial farming traditions of the area, Seventh Day Adventist dietary practices, and gentrification.
Very little of the pre-settlement Walla Walla influence is present now. Damming of the Columbia and its tributaries have decimated the fish population, including the flooding of the famous Celilo Falls fishing site near present day Dalles. Remnants of that tradition, however, can be seen on the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla reservation near Pendlton, OR. Root feasts and other festivals are sometimes open to the public.
The Walla Walla river valley area is a major food agriculture area and the first center for Pacific Northwest's ag-finance. Several large agricultural banks are still based and located here. The valley also early on developed significant industrial size orchards and vegetable gardens to provide food for the miners at the booming Idaho silver and later also coal mines.
Several immigrant ethnic groups have shaped the Walla Walla ag industry. The Italians brought the sweet onions to the town. They also brought the initial wine industry here. Several Asian families have been growing vegetables for the local market since late 19th century. Most large landowners growing wheat are Anglo-Saxon protestants, but there are exceptions and there are farmers here from many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
Roll out on the small roads around Walla Walla to see the wheat, alfa-alfa, and onion fields, and stop at the numerous farm stands. Bicycles can be rented in downtown Walla Walla.
Seventh Day Adventists are a Christian denomination with roots in the 19th century. With the founding of the Walla Walla College (now, University) Walla Walla and College Place have become a major SDA center in the US. Among the main considerations for the Adventists is treating the body as the temple of God and consequently sacred. It should be protected and maintained well.
Good stewardship of the body includes not only abstinence from intoxicants, stimulants, and promiscuity, but also a healthy diet, particularly vegetarianism. Although the Adventists are not required to be vegetarian, the wast majority are. As a result, there is plenty of great vegetarian food available in the town. It is often meat substitute-heavy. His Garden Bakery, for example, offers almost only vegan baked goods and other goodies. Except for the wiener kiosk on First and Main, I can't think of a place that does not offer decent veggie options.
There is also Andy's Market, which offers a large selection of vegetarian bulk foods. Great food for bargain prices. And for a special experience, head to Washington's largest vegetarian dinning hall on the Walla Walla University's (“quad u” for the hip) campus.
And the last of the three factors- gentrification. The town has become quite some hip spot over the last two decades, and the food scene has been affected too. Whitehouse-Crawford offers you the over a hundred dollar dinner experience, if you feel like it. Safeway upgraded a few year back. There is even a farmer's market in the downtown on summer weekends, with live music too.
Wine industry drives the gentrification. The region strives to produce medium and high priced wines, and attracts the people with the means and the lifestyle.
Gentrified Walla Walla has also brought about changes in ag. Farms offering high-end products are cropping up ever year, but CSA still have waiting lists.
Monday, December 8, 2008
FlavorAware
Dear readers, please see the new Rye-grass website: www.FlavorAware.com. I'm posting all of these articles there, but there is more!
FlavorAware acts as a guide to experiencing the stories of local flavors. You can be a flavorologist (someone devoted to writing and studying the life and death journeys of food and flavor)!
If you would like to be a flavorologist in your own location start a blog and email me the update, or I can subscribe the blog. I'll build a profile for your city in FlavorAware and post your articles.
Best of luck,
-Alan
FlavorAware acts as a guide to experiencing the stories of local flavors. You can be a flavorologist (someone devoted to writing and studying the life and death journeys of food and flavor)!
If you would like to be a flavorologist in your own location start a blog and email me the update, or I can subscribe the blog. I'll build a profile for your city in FlavorAware and post your articles.
Best of luck,
-Alan
Eugene Sunlight
Crystal clear day, Eugene, OR. Sidewalks have a rough texture; rocks and pebbles wedged in solid sand cast small shadows. Empty lots become beaches soaking sunlight. Graffiti on pealing plaster walls is a metropolitan art show. The fairgrounds of Jefferson Westside lie between Amazon Creek to the south and 13 avenue to the north, a reservoir of sunlight.
A number of buildings make up the grounds; the most prominent is rectangular. Its primary doors open to the west- average sized glass doors under a broad awning. Far above is a large cube shaped glass skylight. If the fairgrounds has a tower, a rotunda, a sparkling dome, this is it. Notably, this one is translucent and, today, heaven's light spills into the exhibition hall. This hall is, usually, where the Holiday farmer's market is- lively stalls, free samples, friendly smiles, and brightly colored produce. In front of the main building is a large plot paved with black asphalt. Closest to the building, tall trunked maples in square plots lined with yellow paint stud the asphalt.
If Eugene has a broad plaza, this "parking lot" is it. In many old cities there is a former palace, converted into a modern civic space. The Fairgrounds in Eugene would be that palace. Over the last 160 years the ancient landed people lost much of their land and history tells of the free-for-all that followed. Whomever could cut and process the most timber, grain, grass seed, these people became wealthy. But today, at the fairgrounds I encountered a different kind of wealth.
Under that great big glass skylight, the merchants are accountable. As they invest time and energy living here, they are slowly taking what the landscape gives them- milk, cheese, wood, beets, inspiration- and they offer these gifts to me with a smile. By talking to these people, I learn where they live, where their animals live, where their trees live. Someday, perhaps, I can even visit. What I'm buying here, albeit transformed into different shapes, is a little piece of Eugene, OR, sunlight.
A number of buildings make up the grounds; the most prominent is rectangular. Its primary doors open to the west- average sized glass doors under a broad awning. Far above is a large cube shaped glass skylight. If the fairgrounds has a tower, a rotunda, a sparkling dome, this is it. Notably, this one is translucent and, today, heaven's light spills into the exhibition hall. This hall is, usually, where the Holiday farmer's market is- lively stalls, free samples, friendly smiles, and brightly colored produce. In front of the main building is a large plot paved with black asphalt. Closest to the building, tall trunked maples in square plots lined with yellow paint stud the asphalt.
If Eugene has a broad plaza, this "parking lot" is it. In many old cities there is a former palace, converted into a modern civic space. The Fairgrounds in Eugene would be that palace. Over the last 160 years the ancient landed people lost much of their land and history tells of the free-for-all that followed. Whomever could cut and process the most timber, grain, grass seed, these people became wealthy. But today, at the fairgrounds I encountered a different kind of wealth.
Under that great big glass skylight, the merchants are accountable. As they invest time and energy living here, they are slowly taking what the landscape gives them- milk, cheese, wood, beets, inspiration- and they offer these gifts to me with a smile. By talking to these people, I learn where they live, where their animals live, where their trees live. Someday, perhaps, I can even visit. What I'm buying here, albeit transformed into different shapes, is a little piece of Eugene, OR, sunlight.
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