What's in a feature?

photograph via Flickr by noborders

This little break down is all about Under the Table: a feature from Guernica about epicurian dining in Havana, Cuba.

The author, Julia Cooke, is an American living in Havana. She writes in first person about finding food in Cuba under the trade embargo, the nuanced moral code of the Cuban people, and the challenges for a modern Cuban family.

This is a issue feature. The issue is about taking care of yourself and your family, doing what it takes to survive, and being adaptable.

The conflict is about Cooke learning how to live and eat in a foreign country. After she finally gains the trust of her friends to have access to these black market grocers, she has to learn the ins and outs of buying and eating the food.  The other layer of the conflict concerns the families struggle to grow in a globalized community.

It is incredibly effective in the first person. Cooke uses dialouge and detail to reveal her experiences, but she also explores deeper meanings to the reader.

TUESDAY: THE PEACEFUL NEWS ROUND UP

Palestine bids for statehood with the UN, and Israel okays new builiding in East Jerusalem, in the ever entangled saga of struggle between Palestinians and Israelis.

The picture of peace, the Dalai Lama, attempts to visit South Africa. A delay in his Visa suggests that China may be pressuring the South African government to block the spiritual leader of Tibet, still in continuing conflict with Chinese government over it's autonomy.

Thousands continue to protest on Wall Street, in the Occupy Wall Street movement. Catch live video:

Watch live streaming video from globalrevolution at livestream.com

This site might give you a little more information on the occupation.



And,  from our own border, a Border Patrol Officer is charged with drug trafficking. We've all got work to do, it seems.

INSPIRATION for Bloggers

Hey check this out fellow bloggers and blog foragers:

The London Times: 40 bloggers who really count

It is a low-down of top-notch blogs covering everthing from conservative politics to open source sex. Penned by celebrities, soldiers, and magistrates - you will find a succesful and well-read blog to inspire you here.

Some of my new favorites from this list are:

www.katelovesme.net : excellent fashion photography and lesser-known designer coverage

www.streetetiquette.com: fucking perfection in menswear from NYC dressers, Joshua Kissi and Travis Gumbs

www.jamesramsden.com: food blog from a north Londoner and Ballymaloe Cooking School grad. Fresh food, and a very well designed blog.

http://www.treehugger.com: This "green" blog doesn't seem incredibly sincere in it's claims, but it still covers a wide range of important issues in sustainable design

maudnewton.com/blog/: Mostly literary, entirely entertaining, mildly uppity notes and rants on culture and art.

www.medialens.org: IMHO, a neccessary blog for those interested in a career in journalism or the media.

www.tinynibbles.com: visit this one on your home computer! Violet Blue is a feminine counterpart to Dan Savage: a bright pundit on sexual liberation. You've been warned!




I hope you find something that inspires you!
The most interesting blogs seems to reflect on the author's unique perspective, and willingness to be very outspoken.

Water Miracle

The Santa Cruz River runs on the west side of Tucson, parallel to interstate 5. It is a typical dry desert wash: wide, with swaths of tangled vegetation, more foot prints to be found in the sand than watermarks. I love it for its emptiness, and biking fast alongside it under bleached summer skies.

Is there water beneath the hot sand? Why does it rise and pool in slow moving spirals beneath the Tamarisk and Cottonwood trees on its north end?

Last week, the last gasp of the summer monsoon season paraded on Tucson’s south side. With it, came the flood of the Santa Cruz River.   

Cars were stopped, pedestrians leaned over the railing, soaking in the burning brown water with their eyes.

Feeling the wind blow off of the rushing water was just the cure for dusty summer blues.

Dylan Smith: Sentinel Guest

Our writing class was privilged to welcome the editor of southern Arizona online news journal, The Tucson Sentinel, Dylan Smith. Smith came from The Tucson Citizen, which is now out of print. He had intersting comments on the sole remaining southern Arizona paper, The Arizona Daily Star, and Tucson alternative weekly, The Tucson Weekly.

Smith has been in southern Arizona for over ten years, and says he is finally embedded enough in the community to have a foundation of the ins and outs of local happenings.
His online news journal, The Tucson Sentinel, is a independent, nonprofit news online news source. It aggregates news globally, but also has reports on local happenings. The articles are unique in their specificity to the region. His advice: Do what people aren't doing, check facts, find the stories that aren't being told. The Sentinel sets themselves apart with their commitment to unbiased reporting.

His goal is giving the most truthful comprehensive news possible. "Base your conclusions on truth," says Smith.

Style Mighty

Don't think I'm a one-track girl! Fashion is amazing.
I love the battle shield feel of the pieces in this collection, and the futuristic-goth-sci-fi style that Gareth Pugh throws in your face. Notice how androgynous the models are, including men in skirts and the hunchy, rough walk of some of the women.
Couture is bourgeois... I don't deny it. But I believe fashion it is one of the most accessible art forms, any one can (and everyone should) take hold of their own sense of style. How we present ourselves sends powerful messages to people about how we are, and what we have to offer.

Like it or not, first impressions speak LOUD. What do you think yours says? Is there much intention behind it?

Here's a more recent show from Gareth Pugh. Much cleaner, but just as mighty.

The Fruit Gamble

photo courtesy of  kevinjeon00 / iStockphoto

THE FRUIT GAMBLE - a Bon Appetit blog by foodie/complainist The NitPicker

For foodies, there is a world of difference in flavor between the waxy apple plucked from a pile beneath flourescent lights, and the apple from the hand of your farmer at the local market. And why not? We shop at farmer's markets because the food is fresher, maybe organic, and cultivated for flavor. Because of this, we're willing to pay a heftier price! and we expect (and I usually get) fabulous fruit. But agriculture is an unpredictable science and sometimes a beautiful fruit turns out to taste like mush! There really isn't a complete solution for the market shopper. Fortunately, the typical deliciousness is worth the occasionally bad apple.

Nature Misses You

This is a powerful video by some German student film makers. What if nature actually misses us? We tend to relegate the wilderness to such a separate realm of our lives. When it intersects, it's easy to ignore it. The drama of this video, taking place in NYC, is impossible to ignore. What are we missing in our modern urban world? I'm not nostaligic for some bygone pastoral era, but I do have a deep need for wild places, things. How can we blend our magnificent information age, with the primal need for something untamed?

the power of attention and nonviolence

This is a brilliant talk by a woman making documentaries about non violent resistance in Palestine. Although she addresses the particular passions of the people involved in the Palestine-Israeli conflict, and is committed clearly to non violence, the point she, quite rationally, makes is this: we empower what we pay attention to. When global attention concerns itself habitually with frivolous news, or reacts predominately to terror, violence and tragedy, we leave resisters with little reason to remain committed to nonviolent tactics.

Battle in Seattle, a film about the colorful resistance to the World Trade Organization Summit in 1999, also addresses the seeming futility of nonviolence. Peaceful anarchists come into conflict with their fellow protestors resorting to violent riot. The violence leads to media attention, but portrays the anarchist in a, well, stereotypical version of anarchy and distracts from their peaceful intentions. Although this film strays from reality, it realizes that the media seek action. How is an individual to draw attention to their cause without acting out? Check out the real battle in Seattle.

History is a tale of barbarianism, acquisition, and warfare. What is possible if modern cultures demands the story of empathy?

THIS is a Blog Post

Here!
This is a blog post.

It could say something personal:

I had spaghetti squash hash and chicory coffee for breakfast.


It could be something to share and explore:

The coffee was from Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans.

It could be something to rock your world:

After breakfast, I put on The Gift and got ready for class.

Or it could be instantaneous, as the wondeful web can be:

Now, I am in Web Writing and making a brand-new blog!