I am currently reading John LeCarre's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, called by some "the best espionage novel ever written."

I just wish I could follow it. It's been a reassuringly long time since I read a piece of fiction I had this much trouble with, though I did it not infrequently as a kid. I think what's making it so difficult for me is not the many characters and their stories--I am pleased so far with my ability to keep track of them--but rather all the jargon in use. Some of it is specific to London in the 70s (e.g. types of hats, cars) and some to spies (e.g. roles of spy support staff: "lamplighters," baby-sitters"). I'm spending a lot of energy decoding these (though there are sometimes clues) and I think that detracts from my ability to really get my teeth into the intricacies of the plot.

A glossary would be very useful!

I hear there's a BBC mini-series version starring Alec Guinness as the hero and Patrick Stewart (!!!) as the villain, so I may just have to see that. I hope I can follow it, though.
- posted by k @ 2:27 PM

 
Food News: A Column About Vegetarian Food in the Bay Area!

MEATLESS in the SF Bay Guardian.

Cool!
- posted by k @ 3:44 PM

 
It's been a Beatle-y week in the News

1. Rubber Soul Anniversary Cover Album: "It was 40 years ago this month that the Beatles began recording Rubber Soul and forever changed the sound of music. A new tribute CD, with contemporary artists, features remakes of the 14 original tracks. Many of the artists on This Bird Has Flown (the alternate title of the song "Norwegian Wood") weren't born yet in 1965, the year Rubber Soul came out." -NPR.org I listened to some of the tracks (clips on NPR website) and some I liked and some I really didn't like. I don't think I would want to own this album, but I like the idea a lot.

2. Paul McCartney's new album:
Morning Edition, Sir Paul McCartney -- now 63 -- has spent the better part of his life playing music for crowds numbering in the thousands. Many of his fans squeal with delight just at the sight of the former Beatle. The recording of his latest CD, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, effectively reduced McCartney's audience to one: producer Nigel Godrich.
By some estimations, the collaboration has resulted in McCartney's best music in years.

In personal Beatle news, I have been listening to my downloaded "Band on the Run" (album) and I hate to admit it but I kinda like it. But I am not ashamed! I even admit to liking Neil Diamond--I never claimed to be a pop music snob! I just like certain things and dislike others, and the things I dislike happen to be inferior. That's all.
- posted by k @ 3:32 PM

 
Yes, I am alive. Not much to report, though. Details later. First, the important stuff:

Steeped in a New Tradition
Instant ramen noodles are supplanting beans and rice for many in Mexico. Defenders of the nation's cuisine and dietitians are alarmed.
By Marla Dickerson, Times Staff Writer
[excerpts follow]
Purveyors say you don't have to strain your noodle to figure out why. Nearly 60% of Mexico's workforce earns less than $13 a day. Instant ramen is a hot meal that fills stomachs, typically for less than 40 cents a serving. The product doesn't need refrigeration and it's so easy to make that some here call it "sopa para flojos," or "lazy people's soup."
....
Gloria Lopez Morales,an official with Mexico's National Council for Culture and Arts, worries that globalization is disconnecting Mexicans from their very life source, be it U.S. corn displacing ancient strains of maiz or fast food encroaching on the traditional comida, or leisurely afternoon meal
...
Nutritionists likewise are alarmed that instant ramen, a dish loaded with fat, carbohydrates and sodium, has become a cornerstone of the food pyramid.With the majority of the population now urbanized and on the go, Mexicans are embracing the convenience foods of their neighbors in the U.S. while abandoning some healthful traditions. The result is soaring levels of obesity, diabetes and heart disease, particularly among the poor.

My sister, the anthropologist and perhaps aspiring food writer can probably provide an insightful commentary about globalization, syncretism, folkways and things like that, so I'll leave it to her.

I should point out that someone I know has spent most of the last two years in Mexico and has complained about heaviness of the "traditional" diet where she stays--high in fat, low in fiber. A lot of meat and starch, and not enough fruits and vegetables. So perhaps it's not ramen that's to blame, but that the diet has not adapted to modern needs? Or that portion sizes don't reflect current lifestyles? Or perhaps that some aspects of the traditional diet and lifestyle have been maintained while others have been discarded because of inconvenience, compounded by the fact that some foodstuffs that were rare treats in the "traditional" world are now readily available. This is a problem the world over.

However, I do enjoy articles like this, especially the background story on the development of instant ramen in the first place:
Instant ramen has its roots in aching hunger. It was invented by Momofuku Ando, a serial entrepreneur whose businesses crumbled with Japan's defeat in World War II.Memories of shivering Japanese lined up for a bowl of noodles in bombed-out Osaka haunted Ando for years, he wrote in his autobiography, "My Resume: The Story of the Invention of Instant Ramen."Ando, now 95, founded Nissin Food Products Co. in that city, guided by the mantra: "Peace follows from a full stomach." He figured out that frying fresh ramen was the key to preserving the noodle and making it porous, so that it could be reconstituted with boiling water into fast, cheap nourishment.

There are healthier instant ramen products available in the U.S. market (I have some on my shelf at home), but I think they are not as cheap as bad-for-you ramen. If there were a cheap healthy ramen, it would be the world's most perfect food (not counting aesthetics).

Here is the Official Ramen Homepage, lest anyone wonder if there is one: http://mattfischer.com/ramen/

And a quick Google reveals that apparently Tradition Brand Kosher Ramen has only 1g of fat. But they don't seem to have a website.
- posted by k @ 12:13 PM