Book Review--The Namesake

I wrote about this book earlier(http://tucknesstimes.blogspot.com/2008/04/book-reviews.html). However, it was this month's book club pick so I immersed myself in it again. I downloaded it from our library (if you live in Iowa, check your public library's webpage--it's super easy to do and much less clunky than carrying around or ripping a bunch of CDs to an MP3 player) and listened to parts of it and read the rest, then discussed it in book club, then watched the movie.
I think it's exceptionally well-written--I enjoyed all the detailed descriptions of the settings and the way she packed a lot of characterization into a few words. One of my favorite examples goes something like this: "Ashoke hated waste, so much so that he didn't like Ashima to use too much water when filling the teakettle." The author gives concrete examples of how the characters' traits play out in real life, which makes everything come alive.
The first time I read it I found the plot a bit depressing, but this time I was just able to enjoy the writing and characterization. The movie was quite good and gave Alex and me lots to talk about--particularly if Moushimi and Nikhil could ever have succeeded. As a result of all this, I've decided to put this on my recommended shelf at the library (I had been debating).

Fireworks

On my fun new camera, I have a fireworks setting as well as the aforementioned cuisine setting (http://tucknesstimes.blogspot.com/2008/06/new-camera.html). These pictures were taken at the I-Cubs game July 18 and on campus July 4. I think I was as close to fireworks as I had ever been at the I-Cubs game--they were so sparkly because I could see each individual spot of light. I had great fun trying to capture them. Tips: Set the camera on a sturdy surface where you can see the fireworks in the camera (I used my knee). Zoom into where the fireworks are going off. Press the shutter when you hear the fireworks zooming up--then while the shutter's open there's more likely to be something there. Just take a whole bunch. The grand finale is the easiest time to get something. I was pleasantly surprised with how many turned out.

The housing crisis has tended to bring out two different responses. One is the view that says the problem is that the banks in question knew the government would bail them out if the market went down and so they were behaving quite rationally to make the high risk loans they did. On this view, if the government would really just let even big operations go bankrupt, people would figure it out and start behaving rationally. The other view is that here we have the proof that unregulated markets don't work. We are not having to write regulations telling them they should only lend money to people who can pay it back, which is a little embarrassing. The second view says this shows why everything would be fine with government regulation. Both views are shallow, in my opinion, because they both rest on the false premise that we can take a vice, like greed or ambition, and set up a system that will generate good results out of bad motives. That is the premise of capitalism: just let people be self-interested and greedy and if markets will be allowed to do their invisible hand magic, everything will be fine. Those who trust government have to explain why governments will do the right thing, and the normal explanation these days is that the desire to get reelected will give politicians the necessary motivation to vote for things that are in our interest. They don't have to care about the public good themselves, they just have to care about reelection (be ambitious) and the political system will turn their selfishness into good laws and regulations. I think of Augustine's observation many years ago that the Romans had created a system that channeled love for honor and glory into the most successful political-military regime ever. It conquered the known world. But it was still founded upon vice, and it ultimately crumbled, because all vices, whether greed or the lust for glory, carry within them the seeds of their own downfall...

Thank you, ladies of Springfield

We got this crystal pedestal bowl from someone when we had our wedding reception in Springfield. I had put all the crystal in boxes in the basement until recently because I couldn't imagine using it--I do think it's a bit more southern than midwestern. Although Alex's mom would be more liable to actually make a watermelon boat than use a bowl if it were July, I haven't quite gotten to that stage yet.

Anyway, when Mom and I were organizing the basement this winter, we found all the crystal, and I like two pieces quite a bit. One is this bowl, and the other is a massive crystal bowl that holds spinach or fruit salad for 20 people. When we found them, I realized I just needed to get comfortable taking them places, since usually when I'm eating with that many people it's not at my house. So I've used the large one twice and this one once in the last few months, and have really enjoyed using them.

I'm also trying to revive the art of the fruit salad--just plain cut up fruit, at least 4 types, varying colors and textures, no whipped cream or glaze or anything. Everyone loves it--try it at your next group gathering! Warning--it's not necessarily cheap and it can be labor intensive, but your kids or early guests can help and it's certainly healthy and well-received. Now if I could just figure out what to do with the massive vase.

Cleo's new favorite place

No, we haven't hooked our cat up to life support. He's really doing quite well, considering his age (15 or so). What happened is this: I got fed up with the unsightly mess of cords in our living room. So I put this basket in between our recliners behind the end table to get it out of sight and then Alex rearranged and put all the cords in it. Apparently we didn't put enough stuff in it, because I've found Cleo curled up in it several times today already. I don't relish the idea of his being so close to the cords, so I'll probably end up having two baskets back there--one for him and one for the cords. He looks so cozy, and it would be easier than vaccuuming the couch all the time....

debt

I have been thinking about the banking crisis that has been so much in the news these days. In a nutshell, many people took out loans on the assumption that housing values would always keep going up and/or the assumption that they would not have any financial downturns like a lost job or health problems, and now find themselves defaulting. Banks also underestimated the risks of default if these very things happened, and are now looking to the government to help them remain solvent. I have several thoughts on this subject, so I may spread them out over a few posts since Anastasia says my blogs are often too long and too infrequent. To start with, think about the magnitude of the current problem, which goes far beyond home mortgages but is instead a society wide pattern. I was floored yesterday to read that the average household has $8500 in credit card debt, that translates into massive amounts of interest payments that are hard to get out of. But the same pattern exists at the public level. Wikipedia lists the national debt to be about $30,000 per person and $60,000 per household. So when you think of how much money you owe on your mortgage, credit cards, car loans, etc. don't forget your share of the public debt. I don't think all debt is always wrong, but I think there is clearly a society wide pattern going here, whether with houses, credit cards, or government bonds that adds up to a persistent tendency to spend beyond our means. More in the next post.

Eliminate pesky fruit flies!

2007 was a bad year for fruit flies. We had so many last July that I decided I wasn't going to just put up with it anymore. I got on the Internet and found a very useful site (http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef621.asp) that tells how to make the above fruit fly trap. Basically you take a glass jar, put cider vinegar in the bottom, and then put a paper funnel in the top. The vinegar attracts them, the paper keeps them from flying back out. A few will drown, but most of them you can release to the outdoors if you so desire. As the website notes, you must also remove all overripe and rotting fruits and vegetables (in our case, an old onion) from your kitchen or else they just come back.

Hope this helps someone else this summer!

Cream of Asparagus soup

A friend gave me a couple pounds of homegrown asparagus and this is what I did with it. Since it was all shapes, sizes, and colors (see the sink photo), I thought soup would be perfect. Our favorite way to have asparagus is tossed with EVOO and salt and then grilled, but we've had that a couple times so this was a nice change. I also had some great chicken stock (see previous post) to use up. The recipe for the soup was a little complex, so I won't be posting it here, but I could scan it if someone was interested. Basically, you saute the asparagus with onions (top right), sprinkle flour to thicken, then add the broth and eventually puree it. You save the tips, saute them separately, and float them on top, as seen in the final photo. Our soup was a little stringy, but it's asparagus. Overall a good use of the produce.

Perfect chicken stock

I love having cooked chicken and chicken broth in the house for use in recipes, and this is the perfect way to make both at the same time. It's cheap, you don't have to babysit it, and it doesn't boil over. And it makes your house smell great! (I've made many quarts of broth in a stockpot, and this is just a way better method.)

Chicken Stock in Crockpot
15 minutes prep; 6-7 hours cook; 30 minutes processing afterward
2 quarts stock; 6 servings cooked chicken

4 carrots
4 inner stalks celery (with leaves)
2 onions
10 peppercorns
6 lbs (+/-) chicken pieces (bone in, skin on, I use hindquarters b/c they're cheap and flavorful)
Water

1. Wash the carrots if muddy; chop all vegetables into 3-4 pieces, leaving peels and leaves on.
2. Put all ingredients in crockpot. Add a few cups of water, almost covering everything.
3. Cook on low 6-7 hours. (If your chicken is frozen, cook on high for the first hour.)
4. Remove chicken with slotted spoon and let cool.
5. Strain juices with a strainer into 2Q measuring bowl; discard vegetables. (If you put a coffee filter in your strainer, it will strain out all the fat as well.)
6. Refrigerate stock until fat hardens; skim off fat and freeze stock in ice cube or 2 cup portions.
7. Either eat chicken as is or debone and save chicken for later use in cooking.

Cleo's new toy

So, this is our cat Cleo with his new favorite toy. It's a loop of purple string, and it was originally created for stretching my hamstrings. We think it's much more fun to drag it on the ground and make Cleo chase it. Alex figures he sleeps 23 hours a day, so we have to make the most of the time he's awake!

Zambia Pictures

Click on "Zambia Pictures" above to go to my Zambia pictures.

Alien life forms in our backyard

Well, not really, but it did take us a while to figure out what had happened here. We have a green plastic rectangular planter in our backyard, and I plant lettuce or herbs or whatever in it. This year the lettuce drowned, so it was just sitting there with a few weeds in it. Until one day last week I looked out and this is what I saw. Apparently we had so much rain for so long that finally the soil got so heavy that the styrofoam peanuts I had put in the bottom for drainage floated up to the top and the soil fell to the bottom. The styrofoam is actually floating on water. The weird thing is that it took so long to happen--the worst of the flooding was weeks ago--and then all of a sudden overnight the soil and peanuts switch spots. At least my hydrangeas are happy about the rain, even if it's ruining all my containers.