Tag Archives: the new yorker

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Hello everyone! I am a little late for posting my Sunday Reading post, but oh well. I am good at ignoring self made schedules. I’ve slowly gaining some control in my life again. The last two months have felt a little bit like I had been running in slow motion. I would try my hardest to get certain things done but next thing I would know, hours would go by and I didn’t seem to get much done. But I am finally working on some posts that I started drafts of a while ago, and reading tons of books that has been on my to read list for awhile.

Tomorrow is my birthday and this weekend my Mother and Father in Law invited my husband and I over for dinner. I might of specifically requested for certain vegan meals, and my Father in Law made me the pad thai dish from The PPK. It was pretty yummy, and made the perfect amount for 4 people. My Mother in Law surprised me with vegan chocolate cupcakes. Apparently she found out of the recipe from Mayim Bialik‘s appearance on The Rachel Ray Show. The cupcakes were pretty yummy, and what I like about them is that it is easy for non-vegans to make. You can check out the recipe over here. There was some confusion from her end of which tofu to use (which took awhile for me to figure out too) but the frosting still worked out.

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What’s Behind Slovenia’s Love Affair with a Salamander?

I forget where I’ve first heard about the olm, but it is a cave dwelling salamander that has no eyes, and is only found in a cave system in Slovenia. They are really interesting and beautiful looking. So when I saw this article on my news feed I got pretty excited. The New Yorker talks about the cultural investment the Slovenian people have with this salamander, along with their folklore.

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33 Rescued Circus Lions Airlifted from Peru to South Africa

Here is some happy vegan news! A lot of people argue what would happen to all the animals if we adopted a vegan diet. Although it seems unlikely that the world would go vegan overnight (causing an over population of farm animals) some more complicated cases are wild animals bred in captivity. It is nice to see wild animals get closest to living in the wild that they can. It takes time, money, and effort from humans, but I think the results are worth it.

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Are Humans Smarter Than Animals? Honestly Who Knows?

I love this article. I get very frustrated when we talk about animals and intelligence, because it gets complicated. I remember joking about my cat was smarter than my nieces when they were little tiny babies. Yeah humans are suppose to be smart, but my cat has object permanence, does your baby? Joking aside, there are many things that animals do everyday that is amazing. There is even a squid that can change it’s color AND control it’s shadows. We might not be able to comprehend what that would feel like, how much active thought process does a squid go through to control it’s color changing? It is hard for us to think of walking as something we need to learn since we learned it at such a young age, but it is part of our intelligence.

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After ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Their Bodies Fought to Regain Weight

This article is one that sums up most of the body love movement. I have heard some crazy fat-phobic people say things like “just eat less food,” and hey I understand where some people come from. Weight and health are two things that are deeply embedded in our minds. But one thing is for sure, weight is more complicated than we think. We are finding that weight can be controlled by more than just calories, including epigenetic, gut flora, and much more. We get so set into the mindset that our weight is “our fault” that when I tell some people about these studies they defend their original thoughts on other things. I remember citing a study that said that people from the 80s were thinner with the same amount of exercise and calories than people today. What did I hear? About whole fucking grains. Really? I then asked that person if they ate more whole grains in the 80s than they do today, answer no. So this is a much more high profile study that shows that rapid weight loss might be more complicated than “sucking it up” and having lots of willpower.

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Making an Informed Transition to Veganism

I am a little bad about helping people with nutritional information. Veganism is easy, really, but it does require us to rethink the rules of nutrition. We have so much programed in our minds as kids- x amount of protein (meat), x amount of grains, x amount of dairy, x amount of fruit, etc. But things get really complicated with a plant based diet. This might partly because a lot of these foods merge into the different categories. And I think since long time vegans get so use to this new way of thinking we tend to ignore newbies, who might not know all the basics. I am always stressing that I still taking vitamins, largely vitamin B12, but still pointing out that meat eaters can be low on the vitamin since animals don’t make the vitamin. It’s created by bacteria. 

Gena has written a great outline of things to look for in a vegan diet. You might need to think about your protein sources for the first year, but it’ll become second nature. Concerned about calcium? Pay attention and you will eventually learn enough information that you won’t need to think twice about your daily choices.


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Hey guys. This week I am all thrown off. Last weekend I went to Ocean City with my husband since we got invited to a friends beach house. We went on Monday and came back Tuesday, for a little mini vacation. Then we went into Brooklyn to visit my sister on Friday night and came home late Saturday night. I have a bunch of cool posts to do about Brooklyn, a little tour guide of things to do in Williamsburg/Bushwick if you will. I went to Ocean City during the off season… so I really don’t have many good vegan tips of places to go there. I don’t know guys, the Jersey Shore isn’t my thing. Maybe I will make a travel guide about the beaches near Fair Haven where I grew up (and where Alexa is now).

It is really windy here. Some of the smaller trees have been uprooted, and the power went out while shopping! It was very weird going shopping at Target and Wegman’s with only the emergency lights on. There were also weird little things that weren’t working. Espresso machines were down, the conveyer belts at the registers weren’t working. And I feel like everyone was in a panic because of the power being out, at least I felt a little bit like there was something severely bad going on. Oddly my power is doing just fine so I can make this post of the top reads for your Sunday.

Jazz singer Nina Simone is shown in London on Dec. 5, 1968, photo. Simone's deep, raspy, forceful voice made her a unique figure in jazz and later helped define the civil rights movement. (AP Photo)

Jazz singer Nina Simone is shown in London on Dec. 5, 1968, photo. Simone’s deep, raspy, forceful voice made her a unique figure in jazz and later helped define the civil rights movement. (AP Photo)

Nina Simone’s Face

I might be a little late in the game with posting this article, but it is still something good to read. Ta-Nehisi Coates writes a great article about why we should care about the casting choice for Nina Simone. Many people who read about social justice is probably aware of the issue already, but Coates write beautifully and I think explains the situation that is understandable to anyone new the topic.

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Fitness Trackers Reveal the Damaging Pitfalls of the Modern Approach to Self Improvemnt

As someone who loves to track their health stats, I found this article interesting. I use MapMyRun, Ovia, and have downloaded a pedometer app in the past. Then I like to combine them all together in my Apple Health app because I love graphs. But the article points out that you can’t keep topping yourself, and that might drive some people nuts. I don’t want to say FitBit and other fitness trackers are pointless, but we need to be careful about how to we sell them.

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Excessively Candid FoodNetwork.com Recipe Reviews

Am I outing myself as a New Yorker fan? You betcha I am. I found these hilarious, and plausibly real.

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Controversial Post: Who Can Clap for That Wrap?

Emileigh from Flashback Summer has really been crushing it lately. Some of you may not know, but I love vintage clothing. I’ve largely stopped blogging about fashion mostly since I haven’t been spending much on new clothes. But I’ve showcased some vintage articles of clothing on the blog (both dresses, vintage hat, and dress). As many may know, vintage clothing has a lot of styles that might be called out today for cultural appropriation- the squaw dress, the tiki bar craze, blackamoor jewelry, and now Emileigh breaks down whether or not is culturally appropriate to wear a wrap. I like how she quotes various people with different ethnicities and background and does some historical research, and urges that if you aren’t doing the research yourself, don’t wear it.

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Arsenic & Old Lace

I rarely make cocktails from Gastronomista, mostly because I am cheap and have a poorly stocked liquor collection. But the photos of the Arsenic & Old Lace is amazing. Naturally I don’t have any of those liquors- and finding creme de violette might be hard but I will keep it in the back of my mind when looking around.


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Hi everyone! I decided to go back to the old set up for my Sunday Readings. At least for today since I don’t have too many different articles. I guess maybe it is because I have been more focused on Thanksgiving than news? Or maybe I’ve been trying to think about Christmas, which is hard coming up with stuff I want. Weird right? I guess maybe it is because I know there is a bunch of stuff I want that I can’t get (like a puppy) Anyways, I hope everyone likes these reads!

How Humans Saved Gourds

Apparently humans are the only reason why the gourd exists today. It is interesting to hear about the evolution of fruits and how they try to be eaten to spread their seeds. It is also nice to hear that humans saved something for once rather than killing them.

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Big in Israel: Vegan Soldiers

This is a quick little article about how Israel is handling the growing vegan community. It is a shame there is no programs like this for American soldiers but this article shows that society can adapt to the growing vegan demands. So saying it just isn’t how people do things is proving to be false.

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Your Gut Bacteria May Be Controlling Your Appetite

I love reading articles that further prove there is more to weight than diet and exercise. This one is talking about how what we crave might be controlled by the bacteria in our stomachs. This is probably a good theory since it might explain why people crave different foods once they change what their diet looks like.

Teachings Grown-ups How To Eat

I have a lot of beef with the “child obesity” debate. I know someone close with a child who they are trying make loose weight, which rubs me the wrong way. One of the major reasons is because they don’t change everyone’s diet, they just restrict their child’s. The article points out that we need to be more flexible about what we eat, and we are lucky, we are ominous, it is part of our nature to switch up what we eat. 

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Highways Destroyed America’s Cities

This article made me think about when I lived in Philadelphia and how roads shaped where I would go with friends. I remember hating some walks to movie theaters because it meant walking under highways, and certain areas were pretty much dead zones because of the roads. 


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I hope everyone had a happy Halloween. I think Alexa and I sure did. Alexa had to work but still got dress up as Ariel. Then changed for a spooky Halloween party. This year Jon and I wanted to the whole give away candy thing in our new home. We got a good amount of kids. While waiting we made vegan mummy dogs, brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes (scary to kids). We watched episodes of Simpson’s Tree House of Terror, seasons 2 to 7. When we finished we watched Ichabod Crane and The Brood. OMG, was The Brood good! I know who I’m going to be for Halloween next year- Nola!

Anyways, we have a big list of articles, probably because I’ve been all about Apple News. I’ve been reading so much more. I probably should take a break because some days I think I do feel a little overwhelmed by facts.

Food:

Not sure how many people will be able to read this, but New York Times wrote a profile on Smarties. I loved them since I was a kid but I love that they are vegan friendly. They also are based in New Jersey and Liz Dee is vegan herself! So I really try and support the company!

I really want to make these!

The New Yorker NAILS the almond milk versus cows milk debate. Okay not all the points! But brings up an important one about our food. We need variety, and we need to know how to handle our waste!

I first heard of savory oats from Oh She Glow’s cookbook with her red lentil oats. Now The Full Helping gives a lot of suggestions, which I should try taking up, especially for pre-run breakfast.

Two good videos from Eat Your Kimchi- one is a 3D chocolate maker! OMG gotta make these chocolates. The other is a dakgalbi recipe which makes me want to veganize it.

http://www.eater.com/2015/10/19/9553471/what-is-neurogastronomy

Spoopy Reads:

The New Yorker profiles several different black cats.

Alexa and I were super happy to try these out! They are like creamsicles.

Veganism:

I love this article by The Atlantic talking about taxidermy displays. I feel a similar feeling about zoos. There is this weird contradiction that zoos and taxidermy isn’t helping the animals directly and can be cruel. But at the same time it sparks interest and gets the average person concerned about the well being of the animals. And there is the fact that animals are beautiful, and it is amazing to see an animal that isn’t native to your area and marvel at it’s existence. Anyways, I hope you enjoy that read.

Apparently parts of India are banning cow meat and it isn’t making vegans happy. They have excellent reasons why this is problematic, which is also a reason why I feel like if you ditch meat, you need to ditch dairy as well.

One of my husband’s favorite Simpson’s episodes is the one where Lisa becomes a vegetarian, here is an article praising it.

This episode of Bite Size Vegan made me really happy. She has been trying to document the history of veganism, and found that people have been making the same arguments over time. If you have the time, I suggest watching it. The quotes are really beautiful.

I love learning new “ethnic” foods that are made vegan. This one is a cinnamon spiced milk drink from Puerto Rico.

Don’t go to these type of wildlife attractions!

Health:

I totally back up the Body Positivity Movement. Yeah, I think there is a link between obesity and health, but I think it is more complicated than “I’m fat therefore I’m sick.” I don’t like when people just chalk it up to “dieting” because there are some health habits that we picked up on in the USA that might be BETTER for our health overall (for example we consume more whole grains!) So I was happy to see yet another study that supports that there is more to weight than calories and calories out.

There is an interesting study focusing on the amount of words spoken to a child, and how it effects their ability to learn.

 


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What I wear to my local CSA, cat sweatshirt, stripped dress shirt, cloud leggings, purple striped socks, and super old docs.

Oh boy guys. I’ve been so busy with Vegan MOFO! I’m a little glad to be over with it, and I am also excited to sign up again next year! But for now there are lots of posts to catch up with that I want to write that were “Vegan MOFO themed.” And I’ve been collecting so many of these links that I’ve wanted to share with everyone! So sorry that it is a little long and overwhelming! Take you time guys. Oh! And I can start doing my Farm Haul again! The summer is pretty much done, so that insanely long shopping lists are done. And I get a little bit of break since some of the foods can be stored long term. So yey!

Farm Round Up:

What I got:
1 jack o’lantern
1 bag of stir fry greens
1/2 bag collard greens and kale
1 head of red cabbage
5 tomatoes
9 small potatoes
1 small butternut squash
1 red onion
1 yellow onion
3 big beets
5 small green peppers
4 small broccoli crowns

What I’m cooking:
red lentil dal (with onion and tomatoes)
black bean “chicken” and broccoli stir-fry
Pad See Ew
ginger, beet, and carrot soup
tacos with roasted peppers
collard and kale greens in shake

Food Links:

I need to try out these mango yolks. I really do miss the joy of popping a liquid orb on top of toast. 

So my husband has been pretty trying to get a waffle maker and I am not a sweet bread breakfast person. But these savory waffles? Uh hell yeah.

So I love Eat Your Kimchi, videos of a Canadian couple in South Korea. They recently did a video of making raw and vegan coconut oil chocolates. They give some nice tips, which makes me want to make some… maybe filled with cookie butter?!

Paleo vs Vegan! Such a heated debate. Even the whole protein thing, ugh. My Mom gave me “you brainwashed gurl” eyes during lunch when I told her she probably shouldn’t worry about protein going on a mostly vegetarian diet (especially since she is still eating chicken and fish occasionally, and eggs and dairy frequently). Anyways, I like this short story about how a guy switched from Paleo to Vegan, and nothing happened.

I am not sure why but I am mesmerized by this blue ice cream.

I love reading vegan travel blogs, because it makes me believe that traveling with my husband in the future will still be enriching. One of the things I miss after going vegan is the spontaneity about traveling. Trying the local foods etc. Travel blogs show that it still kind-of is. This post on Denmark on Oh Lady Cakes is getting me pumped. Now I just need several thousand dollars for the plane tickets. XD

Pumpkin Ice Cream is back at Franklin Fountain, hope they are still doing it vegan because the all vegan Great Pumpkin Sundae was THE SHIT!

There is a nitro infused black coffee in Philly? I need to try this out.

Ted Nghiem writes a great post about why food is exciting… and it isn’t just about trying the new hip foods. I love learning about the history and the story about the food sometimes more than the food itself.

I never knew there were so many vegan friendly places to eat in Cleveland. Roadtrip?

The other night I got asked by a vegetarian why I didn’t eat honey, and I had a few points of why it is bad, but a lot of my logic is that there isn’t really a NEED for honey. I mean it isn’t as culturally important as meat in the USA. I was also happy to read this article saying honey is pretty much as bad as sugar

I really want to try this squash, it’s seed was 800 years old!

Feminism and Human Interest

I am sure most of you have already seen this article- about emails sent out to and from trees.

I love animal skeletons. I said it. I know, it isn’t vegan. But I find skeletons so beautiful, human or otherwise. So I’ve been thinking about the ethics of being vegan and taking animal for decoration. Well, this blog post does a great job pretty much saying “ethical” taxidermy is bullshit. Although this person eats animals, I love her wording, there is no bullshitting and dancing around the issues here.

Is it nice to read something POSITIVE about climate change.


I’ve seen a few article talking about the horrors of “trigger warnings” in school settings. And I think there would be some good points, but most of the time it felt like rantings of someone who hates Millenials. I think this sums up how I feel about trigger warnings. It isn’t about trying to get out of doing the work, but more about setting up a discussion!


I knew that women had a pretty big part of the early film industry but rarely do people name names. So this was a nice educational video about Alice Guy-Blaché.

Health

I’ve recently taken some Orange Theory classes, like about 3 months worth. I stopped taking them for various reasons, but I started to learn why people like taking fitness classes. I think this article makes some great points that I didn’t really believe before taking Orange Theory. Like it is nice to have free hair ties and pads in the bathroom for emergencies.

This article by NPR is a little disturbing about the effects of not getting nutrition for young female athletes. Some of the effects will last into adulthood.

The science of body positivity.

Epigenetic is an important key in todays health. This article talks about a study that tries to compare adults who had troubling childhood experiences and their health conditions. It’s an interesting read. And if you don’t know much about epigenetic I would recommend watching this SciShow video that explains it.

Art

I need all these crowns.

These are beautiful machine that walk on beaches. With some cool videos of them walking around.

I don’t know if this is art but I want Glittery Rain Boots

I love these retro spoopy pins.


If you watched the video above about Alice Guy-Blaché, then you might want to see this video by her.

Science

Mental floss reports on cool glowing bacteria, the story is pretty interesting and show that you shouldn’t dismiss kids.

POOP CARS. Got you to click on that link.

And the future of toilets, which is again oddly interesting. What do I listen to when I poop? Nothing. I’m fast.


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Another week went by. Been busy, but I really can’t say what I have done. Yeah, just one of those weeks. But we should have some fun posts coming up for you guys this week! So stay tuned. In the meantime, here is our next collection of reads (and a watch) for everyone to check out.

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It Takes HOW Much Water to Make Greek Yogurt?!

People rarely actually ask why I don’t eat dairy. Maybe people just assume I am some crazy hippie going through a phase. The biggest reason for not drinking milk is that it isn’t very sustainable. Mother Jones relates milk directly to the drought in California by asking exactly how much water is needed to make a glass of soy milk or your cup of yogurt. 

The article is a few months old, but I only recently stumbled upon it. It is pretty interesting to the visuals of water to compare each item to. But as I a vegan, I find it most interesting how much more water is needed to make almond milk. I love it, and it is so easy to make. But after reading the article I might want to cut back on it.

Vegans Are Not Annoying: Here’s 10 Reasons Why

I am sure you heard the joke- “How can you tell someone is vegan? They’ll tell you they are.” Working in food service, you hear this one all the time. The joke is sad since I do recommend that any vegans, vegetarians, or people with allergies inform us when buying food. That way, we can help and prevent any mistakes or help you avoid ordering food that goes against your diet. But I am getting off topic- vegans and vegetarians are labeled as annoying and preachy. In all my years, I’ve only met one person who fit the “crazy vegan” stereotype.

Kathy comes up with a pretty good list of reason why vegans are actually the opposite of annoying. She points out that vegans are compassionate and will make you food. I think the making you food part is the most important as I am always making baked goods for parties and get togethers. 

Welcome to the C.S.A!

The New Yorker has a humorous post about C.S.A shares. As a C.S.A member, I am glad to say that we never have too many vegetables that we can’t handle, although lately, it’s been a bean overload. I STILL have a frickin radish in the crisper. Oh and kohlrabi. Nobody knows what to do with kohlrabi.

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MetPublications

This isn’t anything new, but a friend recently informed me that there are many free e-books to download at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s website. I am a HUGE Met fan. I’ve written a review one of their books earlier, and I will be writing about my recent visit to the Charles James exhibit. There is something for everyone at the museum, and they do so much to preserve art from the past and today.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art publishes many books relating to their art and their exhibits. Not every single book is available online. Most books that you can download in their entire form are older books currently out of print. New books, such as the new book about the Charles James exhibit, can be read online in a small excerpt (sort of like the previews on Amazon). The Met plans on releasing more of their books, possibly all of them. But for now there are close to 400 titles that are fully available online, so you have a lot to choose from including a book about Ingres that is sitting on my bookshelf.

A League of Condone

My husband told me about this story while driving me to my sister’s house, and I knew I had to post an article talking about it. But then Jon Stewart talked about it in his show instead, which I think does a great summery. I know most health food, book, or fashion nerds are not into football, but I enjoy the sport.

So in a nutshell the NFL is getting a lot of criticism about the minimal punishment they handed down to Ray Rice. The NFL takes great pride in trying to make the sport family friendly and sending positive messages to younger viewers. So hearing that players gets a smaller punishment for domestic violence compared to a misdemeanor such as smoking pot is unsettling. There seems to be more violence-related problems with NFL players than drugs, so maybe the league should start re-evaluating how things work. 

Uggg… what a downer of an ending! I’ll remedy that by showing a video from Eat Your Kimchi of their lazy cat.