Eating the Web: Tumblr Edition

(Source)

 (Source)

(Source)

(Source)

(Source)

 (Source) 

Tweet

Review: Cheese Bike

This zine is visually pleasing - with a flip out page and a full color photo that describes a summer of making and selling grilled cheese off the back of a small gas scooter. The biggest negative for this zine is the odd writing voice which makes it difficult to determine exactly what is happening. This zine is fun and inspirational but not informational. I like the spreadsheet of sales and the cost of the materials. 

'Born to Kill Zine'

Cheesebike #5  

Fall 2011

New York City  

Tweet

Anthropomorphizing Animals

"In western cultures, animals such as serpents, cats, doves, lions and ... wolves, ravens, coyotes, eagles and so on were once honored and looked upon as spiritual forces or god-like creatures. But agricultural peoples have never anthropomorphized the animals they worked with every day and then ate. Sure, the Hebrews told stories about sheep and goats, and the Greeks ... told stories about hares and tortosises, and the the First Nations told stories of raven, coyote and salmon, but only to illustrate important lessons and human concerns. The animals themselves were not sentimentalized into humanoids. 

In Victoria England, however, under the influence of the Romantics' rediscovery of nature, aniamls in a new cuddly format were enlisted into a 'cult of childhood.' Since then, generations of children have grown up surrounded by humanized animals. Think of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh, Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle... E.B. White's Charlotte's Web... We in the western world now have difficulty avoiding the anthropomorphized animal because it's everywhere, from cereal boxes to toilet paper." 

- Excerpt from Chicken Poop for the Soul by Kristeva Dowling (page 179-180) 

I find this history of anthropomorphizing animals very interesting. Traditional cultures around the world did look to the animal (and natural) world for spiritual insights and animals were the topic of many parables. This was certainly different than the approach in novels such as Charlotte's Web but perhaps the end result are similar? The author then goes on to say that she clearly does anthropomorphize her animals and "watched them all, and by observation I learned about their unique personalities, their likes and dislikes." I have a diffcult time believing that most (if not all) farmers, present and past, have had similar relationships with their livestock. 

The following is the interesting outcome from a discussion like this "Those people who might self-righteously have an owner arrested for the way he or she treats a dog are able to ignore or simply not respond to the concentration camp-like conditions behind the walls of intensive livestock operations. What are the criteria that put an animal into the food category rather than the pet category?" (181) 

Does Anthropomorphizing animals benefit or harm them?           

Tweet

Winged Snail Mail Zine

I've become fairly obsessed with snail mail. I've joined multiple mail organizations and correspondence clubs, bought special release postage stamps, nabbed thrift store mail finds, started a postcard collection, purchased mail themed zines, and spent way too much money on postage. 

 (Letter Writer's Alliance Stationary Download that I simply adore)

(The beginning of a stamp collection. Acquired through Postcrossing postcards)

(Recent outgoing mail - with some vintage Canadian stamps)

All of this is a long winded way to reveal a new project of mine! I will be releasing a mail themed zine twice a year. All the details can be found here. A regular column in the zine will entitled 'Eating your Mail' that will cover fun mailing projects like these, as well as recipes that ship well and recipes for things to eat and drink while writing letters. Follow the main blog for tons of mail related information! 

#vivalasnailmail

   

 

 

Tweet

Crafting: Mushrooms Embroidery

I designed this mushroom embroidery pattern. (Found here for FREE!) I decided to stitch it up with some of the 100% cotton yarn that I've been doing dye experiments on. The caps are dyed with coffee, the underside of the caps with tea, and the stems with white onion skins. 

 I think these mushrooms have a decidedly 1970's vibe to them but I'm 100% okay with that. My husband even said something nice about them unprompted. Usually I show him something I've made and say 'Now say it's pretty' which he does but he noted how nice the natural colors looked when used to embroidery something natural. 

 

I've listed my extra floss in my shop. I've made one package just for the colors used in the mushroom design and one variety pack for all the color I've dyed thus far. 

 

Tweet

Review: The Dock on Princess

Menu: Standard pub fare. We had nachos (which were passable but nothing special) and fries (which were passable but nothing special). 

Vegetarian Options: A few things but the menu is heavy on traditional meat items. 

Quality: The cover the menu states that their beef and chicken is made in Manitoba. The company names of the providers of bread and coffee are listed. This suggests that the meat is not ethically sourced but is only locally sourced. This omission/discrepancy is something to be aware of. 

Cost: Average. Suits the quality of the food. 

Service: We ate an early supper at the non-bar tables near the door. Our service was horrible - truly horrible. In addition to having to wait for items (missed order of fries, empty drinks) she engaged in ridiculous conversation (like asking us if 'We wanted to get going' when she had only moments before given me a second beer), constant interruption for no reason (30 seconds after asking my dining companion if she wanted another drink, she returned (or should I say swung around the booth to ask her again) and overall inappropriate behaviour.  

Atmosphere: This bar boasts a 'Husband Daycare' which is extremely sexist! You know - because men can't like shopping and women can't like beer. The bar area seems like a nice place to watch the game and get a pint of beer, unfortunately only 6 of the 14 taps are Canadian craft beer. The existence of the Husband Daycare, combined with the shoddy service already experienced and the mediocre food and limited craft beer selection makes me want to declare that I will never return to this establishment - especially because they aren't open Sunday. Lazy Sunday afternoon beers are the best! However, as it is one of the only places to get draught craft beer in Brandon it seems inevitable that I will return. That is until I buy a second fridge with which to stock craft beer and start my home brewing hobby with full force. 
   
Favourite Item: Canadian draft beer. 

The Dock on Princess
1133 Princess Ave

Tweet

March Loves

1. I'm in love with Big Rock Brewery's 'Life of Chai' beer. 

2. I've been a big fan of Alphabet Soup Podcast for a while now. Thankfully after a hiatus they are back and better than ever! 

3. The Toronto fermenting and 'putting up food' blog, Well Preserved has recently started sending out weekly newsletters that resemble tomes on a particular vegetable. Last week's subject was cabbage! 

Tweet