talbotlucas.org: a word to the wise is sufficient

the hippo effect

I was aware that the National Geographic team had some neat things on its web site, but I am really enjoying the video of the hippo enjoying the surf off the coast of Gabon, a supplement to this month's article by Mike Fay and Michael Nichols, that I've saved a copy on my desktop. (Look for the "video" box on the right hand side of the page; clicking on the link pops up a window from which you can choose the video [it's #2] and your viewer of choice.) Very good video quality, and it's three minutes and sixteen seconds of happiness. Or at least that's what I take from it.

I find that watching hippos--particularly hippos enjoying water--is very calming. One of my favorite exhibits at the San Diego Zoo was (and is) the hippo exhibit in which visitors can get both above-water and underwater views of the hippos in their habitat, which includes a large pool. (The Zoo video of the common hippopotamus includes some great underwater shots--see the Zoo link above.) You can be sure I'll watch these more often as the semester wears on...

food education as part of a core curriculum

Alice Waters and the Chez Panisse Foundation are once again making their ideas reality, putting the Foundation's money where its mouth and spirit are. The Berkeley Unified School District is revamping its curriculum to incorporate some of the educational ideas Waters has advocated--more details in the article on the SFGate, which brought this development to my attention.

end-of-the-summer reading

The fall semester of my 3L year begins today, the syllabi and reading assignments for my classes are already in hand, so before I turn my attention to evidence, copyright, art law, and questions of professional responsibility... a few notes about the books I've been finishing this last week:

Stiff by Mary Roach has been a hoot, but perhaps I feel this way because I had seriously considered applying for a position with the San Francisco coroner's office when it seemed like my publishing career would not be resuscitated. Terrence, who tolerates hearing about so many of my peculiar interests, made it clear that his tolerance would not extend to hearing about my day if my day was spent examining dead bodies. So... no surprise, perhaps, that all these years later I found this book so intriguing. Roach has a witty, sometimes outrageous style, but I find the questions she asks are the very ones I'd like answered, so she's been a great tour guide through the world of cadavers.

Grace and Power by Sally Bedell Smith reads like a giant Vanity Fair article, but that's not necessarily a bad thing in biography, and made this large (~640 pages) book much easier to digest. Makes one a little sad, too, particularly during an election season in which one seems to think more about whom one wants out of office, instead of whom to elect. (But that's nothing new, is it? I mean, when I was very young--six years old or so--my neighbor informed me that elections are more about someone being booted out of office than someone being elected in a positive spirit to a public office.) Anyway, this was an interesting view of the Kennedy White House, and not a bad summer biography.

In the week since Julia Child's death I've found myself reading once again through the first volume of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and enjoying some of the pieces and profiles that have appeared over the years and which are now available online, including the mini-biography in The New Yorker by Calvin Tomkins (whose work I've enjoyed since reading Living Well is the Best Revenge, his biograph of Gerald and Sara Murphy). The Tomkins piece is available in the New Yorker's now online archives and also here as a pdf, if the link doesn't work. I also found myself rereading Julie Powell's Julie/Julia blog, chuckling and smiling, and was pleased to see a memorial piece written by Powell for the Times.

wine rec: an aussie ravenswood

Over the years we've enjoyed a number of selections from Ravenswood, and we usually make sure to have several bottles on hand as good weeknight wine.

After Ravenswood was purchased by Constellation a few years ago, there was speculation about how its new ownership would affect its offerings. We think there's good news to report.

Today we picked up a bottle of Ravenswood's Vintners Blend South Eastern Australia Shiraz (2002). As the label notes, it's "the first ever Ravenswood wine from Down Under" and it was a lovely surprise. And also on the label: a ring of kangaroos have replaced the trademark ravens--a fun touch. This is one we'll be getting more of, and recommend it to you, too.

how does he distinguish?

This is the question of the night: how does Wallace know the difference between wrapping (or putting something away) and unwrapping (or taking something out)?

I was wrapping up the remains of a loaf of bread. He did not stir in the slightest from his resting spot. I barely begin to unwrap the same loaf of bread, and he is up and trotting into the kitchen.

I put away a few things that were in the drying rack and he doesn't move. I take out the wrapped up sharpening stone and begin to unwrap it...and he's by my side, looking up hopefully. When he discovers that what I have in my hand is not edible, he sighs (yes, sighs), turns around, and then tries to make the kitchen rug into a bed for himself.

julia child, r.i.p.

Very sad news on the front page of the New York Times on the web: Julia Child has died. A copy of the obituary is here, as are our previous related posts: on the Julie/Julia project, and on the Julia Child kitchen exhibit at the Smithsonian.

Salon.com had published a nice profile of Child several years ago, and I expect there will be loads of tributes in the coming days to this incredible woman. She didn't start cooking until her mid-30s, made her television debut at 50, and changed the cooking world. She wasn't a domestic goddess, and she didn't flinch when things didn't go exactly as planned on her television shows, but she always looked like she was having a hell of a good time.

In Mastering the Art of French Cooking, her first book, she alerted readers that:

This is a book for the servantless American cook who can be unconcerned on occasion with budgets, waistlines, time schedules, children's meals, the parent-chauffeur-den-mother syndrome, or anything else which might interfere with the enjoyment of producing something wonderful to eat.

Nearly fifteen years later, in the massive volume entitled The Way to Cook, she commented on the concern many people had about rich, real food. Her thoughts:

Because of media hype and woefully inadequate information, too many people nowadays are deathly afraid of their food, and what does fear of food do to the digestive system? . . . I, for one, would much rather swoon over a few thin slices of prime beefsteak, or one small serving of chocolate mousse, or a sliver of foie gras than indulge to the full on such nonentities as fat-free gelatin puddings.

update 11:57am: The Times has just put up one of its "complete coverage" features on Child, and Slate has reminded readers that Child wrote a week-long diary for the site back in 2000. There's also an update to the Julie/Julia Project blog, which is an event in itself since we haven't had one since The Project ended.

safety second

a fascinating graphic from today's NYT. it's a big graphic, and a big problem. read it carefully. then seriously ask yourself which path you would have picked. remember that in november.

the authors study national security for the center for american progress

the 3L year approaches

The 3L year is on the horizon; classes begin 23 August and this fall's slate includes Evidence, Professional Responsibility, Copyright, and Art and the Law. I'm looking forward to the topics and to the group of professors, although it's a little scary to think that by this time next year I will have already graduated and taken the California Bar exam. Mindful of Terrence's warning not to put the cart before the horse, though, I won't dwell on next summer before this one's over.