Very Important Article

I saw this article and couldn't keep it to myself. If you value reading, education, society, and this country, read this...

Blueberry Crumble and Homemade Whole Wheat Bread

arlier this week a couple friends, boy and I all went to a farm outside of town to pick blueberries. This is one of those fun, cultural things I have wanted to do since we moved to the south. I think there are three typical views westerners have regarding the south: the poor white trashy part (which I have seen a lot of), the rich white trashy part (which turns out to be T-Town in a nutshell), and the cultural part full of history, romance, and charm. Sadly, that part of the South has been hard to come by in this college town full of privileged frat kids.

When we moved here I had dreamy eyed aspirations to find the romantic side of the south where we would eat good southern cuisine, drink sweet tea, go to a club and listen to that olde tyme blues. That kind of culture is thriving in places like NOLA, Memphis, and Atlanta. Tuscaloosa does not have a lot to offer in the ways of good ole southern culture, at least my vision of what I thought it would be. So I was so excited when we embarked on our own, tiny, cultural adventure.

I grew up sort of a city kid and all our dreams (boy and I) currently involve living in places with large, multicultural cities. But every once in a while, while driving through the country, I imagine how amazing it would be to live out there. Your closest neighbor would be half a mile away and you could go a whole day without hearing a train whistle, police siren, truck horn, or even a single car. Twenty minutes outside town, we arrived at the farm where you can pick your own blueberries for $6 a gallon. We were the only ones there. I guess not a lot of people go berry picking at 6pm on a Wednesday evening in the dead of August heat. We were a little late in the season and certainly did not get the pick of the litter. But at least 3/4 of what we picked was juicy and delicious. The whole time we were there I didn't see or hear a single car. An old hound dog wandered over from the neighbors to play with the farm's dog. It was lovely. Such a fun experience. Next summer we will definitely do this again, although probably go earlier in the season. So what did we do with all those blueberries? We made the most amazing, delicious, moan inducing blueberry crumble ever!!


Sadly, nothing remains of this masterpiece. We shared some with friends and consumed the rest as neither of us have much self control when it comes to amazing food.

As if you didn't think we were domestic enough, I made whole wheat bread from scratch. I have always wanted to bake my own bread and have only been able to master the lemon-poppyseed bread (which is amazing). I tried a couple years ago to make wheat bread at my parents house and ended up with two tiny loaves with the outer crust similar to a slab of granite and the inner meaty part the consistency of Alabama clay. It did not turn out well.

I have persevered this time with a dilectible, moist triumph of bakery! This loaf is perfect for Sunday morning toast, weekday PB & J's, and Tuna Melts!! Oh, the tuna melt...






*The amazing display cap above is by Jessica Hische, an amazing designer I came across in my perpetual search for awesome design and typography. The letter comes from her Daily Drop Cap project.

What Summer?

ne thing about getting two masters degrees in three years, you have no life. For me, this includes summer break. I mentioned previously about my awesome time at the University of Utah's Book Arts department in May. Sadly, this remains the extend of any exciting summer activities. Instead of hitting up the beach or travailing about Europe like other people I know, I chose to stay in this sweaty little burg and take some much needed Library classes. Thats right, ladies and gentleman, I voluntarily stayed in 105 degree heat and humidity to learn about the Dewey Decimal *ahem* Classification (not system, get it right...), HTML coding, and just how much money academic libraries spend on databases. Some of my classes were wonderful, some were not so much.

Now, I'm consumed with thoughts of the impending semester which start in a mere week. Not much of a break. The good thing about this experiment they call graduate school is that because I am doing two programs, each semester is a chance to mix it up, do something different, and prevent the fatigue of doing the same thing all the time. Now my mind races with prices of sharpening stones, goat skins, making my own paper, the complexities of really good typographic design, and how the hell I am going to exert any kind of authority to the newbies when I still feel like the newbie. This semester is going to be a doozie for me. I've got a full plate of classes, plus an assistantship, all while still working at the special collections library. Here is what I'm going to be taking:

Printing III - Students initiate and produce an edition of a relatively extensive book and/or participate in production of a Parallel Editions volume. Emphasis is on production, with manuscript selection and editing being critical aspects. Photopolymer platemaking processes are introduced in a desktop publishing environment adapted to historic tools and mediums. Such subjects as marketing and distribution of limited edition books are covered.

Binding III - A concentrated study of the use of leather as a binding cover material. Various binding styles and structures appropriate to leather treatment are studied. Familiarity with the preparation and application of leather in bookbinding is achieved through a series of assigned projects culminating in a final project. Though not the primary focus of the course, binding design and innovation will be studied and explored.

Tool Sharpening - For all my new fancy leather paring tools, and perhaps, my kitchen knives.

Book Repair - I don't even know where this class is going to go, but it will be a great way to learn to repair books and will let me know how I would like conservation type stuff.

Directed Research - 100 hours of papermaking. I will be making all the paper for my projects this year using old t-shirts and bed sheets.

Practicum in Teaching in the Book Arts - I will be assisting my printing professor with the first year printing class. I'll be there to help the students and do demonstrations.

Graduate Assistantship - With the help of another second year student, I will be assisting the Book Arts Department with any and every thing that they need. I'll be maintaining the work spaces, organizing and managing the exhibition space on the fifth floor, as well as planning for local events we are involved in.

In October there is a conference for people who wish to teach letterpress in Washington DC that I am going to look into going to as well.

A lot, right? Its going to be a lot of work. I will be tired and often. I will be cranky at some points, but I also will have a blast for most of it. I'm already looking forward to Christmas break back in the snowy mountains where it will be cold and I can sleep in!


*The amazing display cap above is by Jessica Hische, an amazing designer I came across in my perpetual search for awesome design and typography. The letter comes from her Daily Drop Cap project.

Quarter Life

Things I have accomplished before I turn 25:

Graduate college

Buy and almost pay off a car

Climb Mt. Olympus

Master the art of reading while walking without getting seriously hurt

Start graduate school

Discover that the greatest comfort food of all is tri-colored pasta with fuzzy Parmesan cheese

Gain financial independence (mostly) from my parents

Killed a roach... by myself

Move away from home and know it will all be ok

Maintain the ability to fit eleven dimes in my belly button

Find something I'm passionate about

Run at least three miles consecutively

Find the love of my life

Cultivate a diverse cast of noises, voices, and characters with which to entertain myself and others

Lose and regain to ability to sleep and dream

Learn how to carve linoleum

Do something drastic with my hair

Visited two continents other than the one I inhabit

Learned to drink, appreciate, and abhor cheap beer

...amongst other things.

"The Complex of All of These" - Amazing Video

I discovered this amazing video a few days ago and am transfixed by it. I find myself watching it over and over. I love photo streams like this. The artist really shows how intricate and difficult it is to make something completely by hand. So much skill and patience is required for this kind of work and her process is mesmerizing. For those of you interested you should check it out. This is the kind of stuff I'm learning to do and its so wonderful to see the process.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128340180&sc=fb&cc=fp

Happy 4th of July Y'all!!

Believe it or not, but the weather has been quite pleasant this last weekend. Of course, there is a nice thin glaze of perspiration on the skin, yet somehow its been tolerable. Late evening has brought with it gentle breezes which have cooled off the sweltering heat from the hard ground and made evening walks a pleasant refuge from the day to day.

This was not my first 4th of July away from home. In 2004 I went to Australia to pick up my brother from school and he made sure to welcome me with an impromptu 4th of July BBQ for us Yanks. But this is the first 4th of July living away from my family, friends, and the traditional festivities I normally attend with great excitement. So to celebrate in our own little way, Boy and I made sorbet from all the seasonal fruits that have popped up recently.

It was super easy and lots of fun. All it took was lots of strawberries, several peaches, a few scoops of blueberries, some stevia leaves, a pinch of salt, and a healthy dose of Vodka all tossed into our food processor and TADA...


Pretty much the most amazing summer-time-in-the-sweltering-melting-heat-of-Alabama after lunch, after work, after dinner, after hard day of reading and napping treat possible.

Survey says: Yumm...

A lovely weekend, we've had here. Friends, food, a teensie bit of fireworks, and to top it all off, a good read. In honor of the book, and my profession's honouring of it, I have started To Kill a Mocking Bird again. I loved this book the first time I read it and it feels only fitting to read it again now that I live in Alabama. I decided that I am going to read southern books for the rest of the summer. What better way to learn about the culture you live in, than through the stories people write about it.