Eating with Mike Teavee

In Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory there is much to poke fun at our society and food. Mike Teavee is an interesting character who represents the kid in the everyday American lifestyle. I think it is interesting because he is sitting on the couch watching TV and could not be bothered by anyone around him while his program was playing. Even though there were tons of reporters giving him all the attention anyone could want, he still chooses to sit there and focus on the TV. This leads to how he cannot even leave the TV to go have a family meal. His mother says she serves all his meals right in front of him while he watches TV. I think this foreshadows how Americans eat now. This movie was made in 1971 and yet we have seen a bigger change in how common it is to watch TV while eating any meal.

I grew up in a household where when we ate dinner the TV was turned off and we had family time. The only time when the TV was turned on during dinner was if it was a special occasion, but even then those were few and far between.  I think this concept is lost in most families in America these days. People are so busy they do not really have time to all sit down and eat together because their schedules all conflict. I miss the days when I could sit down at the end of the day and enjoy dinner with my family. When I was younger I would go to my friend house and they would eat dinner in front of the TV whenever they felt like it. It was nice sometimes because it was not like my house, but I could not imagine living that way all the time. Eating should be an experience with other people, not the moving pictures on a flat screen high definition television. 

My Visit to Kumo Hibachi & Steak

I went to Kumo Hibachi & Sushi last night. I have never had sushi in my life and did not particularly want to try it. My friend was craving sushi and I said my class is trying new foods around Kalamazoo so I thought it was perfect to go with her a try some sushi. I have been to Hibachi restaurants in the past and I love it, so it wasn’t hard to get me there. I decided to split a roll with my friend. We got an eel and cucumber roll. Now I’m typically a sea food lover, but the sound of eel was a little much for me. I still got the eel but ordered the hibachi grilled steak and shrimp to fill me up just in case I hated the sushi.

When I tried it I was expecting the worst, but I was actually surprised. It didn’t have much of a fishy taste like I was expecting. I honestly tasted the cucumber more than the eel. I think the texture of the seaweed that it was wrapped in and the sliminess of the eel was the thing that threw me off. I had one roll and in most cases that would have been it for me, but this time I ate a second roll just to try it again. I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it. I think I am going to try other combinations to see if I can find one I actually like. I can now say I have tried sushi and can add it to the relatively short list of foods I like.

Midwestern Writers on Food: A Review

I know this is super late but…

A couple weeks ago (right before I started getting sick) I went to the reading at People’s Church about Midwestern Writers on Food. The author Peggy Wolff gave us a brief background on why she wanted to write the novel, Fried Walleye and Cheery Pie. Wolff asked 30 Midwestern writers to pick a certain food to focus on in their chapter they wrote. Wolff then combined all the different excerpts to create a book. I thought it was such an interesting idea to have so many different writings in one book.

Bonnie Jo Campbell then discussed her chapter on how her family made a special candy that was passed down in her family. It was so cool to hear an author read some of their own writing. There were points when she would stop ad give her own personal side notes, which I thought made it more special to hear. It gave a little more personality and background to the words on the page.

When I was there I felt like I was in the wrong generation. Most of them were older so it was hard to relate when they were discussing old recipes that were passed down to them from other generations. There was one lady who said she measured her grandmother’s hand because that is how her grandmother measured the ingredient. They didn’t always have a recipe they followed; they would just make it how they knew to make it. I felt like I could not contribute to the conversation because cooking is not as big a deal in my family, and I am a terrible cook. Overall it was a pretty interesting experience, and I am glad I attended this event.

Winter Girls: The Full Story

After finishing Winter Girls I now understand the meaning of the title. Lia believes herself to be a winter girl because she is not dead, but not truly alive. She is stuck somewhere in between in a frozen place...

Throughout the rest of the novel Lia struggles with seeing the ghost of her best friend Cassie. She tries not to see her and get her to go away. Lia also struggles with her internal battle between her and food. She struggles with only eating minimal amounts of food, enough to fool the world around her. She believes herself to be stronger than other because she does not eat. She constantly strives for a lower weight. Her 3rd goal is to be 90 pounds. Later she says she doesn't know if she could ever quit wanting to be less weight until she reaches zero.
Her family life feels like a war zone with constant battles going on between all the parental figures in her life. Her sister Emma is the only one who she deeply cares for. Emma is her stepsister that she treats like her own sister. Her relationship is vital to success of Lia's life.
Lia struggles in a motel room towards the end of the book. She recently almost died from cutting herself. Her sister Emma found her on the bathroom floor and was so upset by the sight. Lia was sent to the hospital and her parents kept  a much more watchful eye on her. This caused Lia to want to run away so she goes to a motel room and almost dies. Cassie is trying to pull her into crossing over with her, but Lia finds some inner strength and finally wants to get better for Emma. After that Lia is put into psychiatric care and treated the way she needs to be treated. This time is different because Lia is actually compliant with all the treatments versus fighting them.

...At the end the last line says "I am thawing." This signifies that she is no longer a winter girl and slowly becoming more alive than she was as a winter girl.

This was a great read and I recommend picking it up if you ever get the chance!

Winter Girls: Continued..

This author is very skilled in how she portrays the main character's vulnerability in dealing with such grave issues.  She crafts her work in a way that you can see what Lia wants to do and what she actually does. The author writes Lia’s wants but then crosses them out like this and then writes what Lia really does and correct herself. This especially deals with what she thinks about food. The food she actually wants to eat is crossed out and the stuff she truly eats is what happens.  Lia also faces a lot of personal conflict with herself. She struggles with her view of herself and society’s view of herself.  She thinks society’s view is wrong and tries to make it seem as though she is conforming to that image; however, she secretly pushes herself to not eat so she can stay at her ideal body type.

In addition to dealing with her battle with anorexia, she also deals with the grief of her best friend dying. She recently dissolved her friendship with Cassie. The guilt of her not picking up any one of her 33 calls from Cassie the night she died is eating her up. This guilt is slowly creeping more into her and making her think she is seeing Cassie and everyday life. I think this happens partly because she is so upset that her former best friend is dead, but she is also malnourished so her body is reacting to that.

Lia also has a very complicated family home life. She refers to her mom and stepmom as their first name. She does not like the family dynamic. Her mom and dad split when she was born and fight often. Her dad remarried pretty quickly after he was divorced and she does not like the new wife. She feels very alone when it comes to her family. Strangely enough she cares for her younger step-sister. She is the only one she cares for in the family.  Lia leads a very complicated life.

Winter Girls: 50 pages in..

After reading the first fifty pages of Winter Girls I am left slightly confused. The author has a way of revealing information through the main character’s point of view. It seems to have a slight scatter-brain quality to it. Lia is trying to avoid thinking about her friend who just recently died, but her mind keeps going back to Cassie.  In addition, she is struggling to keep up a persona of someone who is not ill, but is in fact dealing with anorexia nervosa.  She tries to show the rest of the world that she does not need to be put back in rehab. Secretly she will take certain measures to hide how she is not eating and losing but not gaining weight.

So far we as the readers have received a brief background on her interactions with her best friend, but she is continually trying to repress the memories of Cassie. They have an interesting relationship because it seems as though they have had a rough friendship. Unfortunately, six months before Cassie died she stopped being friends with Lia. Lia was very upset by this and did not answer Cassie’s 33 calls to her. The next morning she received the news that her former best friend was dead and had tried to talk to her before she did. It puts a lot of guilt on Lia. Right now she is currently trying to come to terms with the emotions she is feeling about Cassie and her own life.

Can’t wait to see what comes up next…

All is Fair in Love and War

Katniss is seen as a strong female character in this novel who prevails in the face of danger. She tackles every challenge that is thrown her way… except when it comes to her personal, romantic feelings. Peeta has strong feelings for her and has loved her since they were young, but Katniss has been ignorant to his affections until he let the world know on national television. And even at that point Katniss convinces herself that it is all an act that Haymitch set up so they could pull off the “star-crossed” lovers act. Every time she is confronted with the idea that Peeta might actually love her she just thinks it is so they can be convincing in their roles and gain more sponsors. 

For the first half of the games she suspects he is against her because he teamed up with the Careers. She sees him as just doing his job of trying to survive. She later discovers that in reality every move he made as a player of the games he did to help Katniss ultimately succeed. He put her needs above his own proving his love for her; however, she is too ignorant and unaware to notice the full meaning of his gestures. And poor Peeta is blissfully unaware of how Katniss really feels. He finds out at the very end on their way back to their district. My heart goes out to him.

                I have a love-hate relationship with Haymitch. He manipulated the situation by telling Katniss she needed to play the role of “star-crossed lovers,” but not Peeta because he actually felt that way with no need to act. Of course Haymitch did not tell Peeta he was having Katniss put on an act because then Peeta would be that much more believable. This ultimately helped in their survival of the games… together. Unfortunately, the price of their victory was Peeta’s heart that was crushed when he found out the truth behind Katniss’s actions in the games.