Constant Donations, 2011

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In 2008, I decided that I would donate $25 every year to the Cornell Chimes Fund, in 2008 inflation-adjusted dollars.

In 2009, thanks to deflation, I actually donated only $24.68, but last year in 2010, the economy had recovered slightly, and I donated $25.18. Huzzah jobless recovery!

Anyway, it is that time of the year again, so without further ado, here is my 2011 Cornell contribution:

$25.18 in 2010 dollars * 225.964 (May ’11 CPI-U, all items) / 218.178 (May ’10 CPI-U) = $26.01 in 2011 dollars

Can’t wait to get my letter in the mail thanking me for my donation of $26.01.

Real Life Adventures: The Lost Photos in a Blizzard Guy

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmop7EAY1Zg]

Last Friday, I met Todd Bieber, a dude who found a canister of film while skiing in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. In a male Amelie sort of twist, he developed the photos and set out to find the photographer by making a Youtube video about the contents. The video was witty, honest, poignant in its recognition that this adventure was much too fantastic to continue. Suddenly, it had racked up a million hits and Bieber was swamped with emails postulating on who the photographer could be. After a few months of fruitless leads, a breakthrough: he received an email from the photographer and immediately booked a ticket to Paris to return the film to the girl who had lost it.

This is the tale that Time magazine described as “YouTube’s greatest adventure,” crafted by the person that ABC News described as “a real life international man of mystery.” Like many others, I was forwarded the first video last winter, and left enchanted by the idea that two strangers could connect through the help of millions of good Samaritans on the internet. But was it really true? After all, Bieber is a director for UCB comedy and a writer for the Onion, and the story just seemed too perfect to be genuine. So I mulled over the ploys that people use to get attention these days, and forgot about the video entirely.

Until I stopped by the Park Slope Food Coop one evening and glanced up at a flyer. Film Night: An Evening of Personal Documentaries. Found: Lost Pictures of New York Blizzard. And there he was, sitting right next to me, wearing a red flannel shirt, dark rimmed glasses, and some scruffy facial hair. The standard hipster uniform. He gave a nervous introduction, and it was clear that he was not used to public speaking, but his face brightened as he told us the rest of his story.

So, they met in Paris. They did not fall in love and get married and live happily forever. Bieber had brought his girlfriend along anyway. The meeting was actually kind of awkward.
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What Do I Bring to UNISG

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Photo: NYT

So, my last post didn’t dissuade you and you’re packing your bags anyway to attend the University of Gastronomic Sciences. Congratulations! Here is some advice on what to lug in your two suitcases, each under 23 kgs.

It’s obvious but must be said: when you pack, don’t forget you will have to bring it all back! Or consider bringing items that you would be comfortable donating to charity at the end of the year.

In my opinion, it is better to bring less clothing and shoes. It’s useful to have some nice clothing for parties and such, but it’s not like you’ll be really clubbing in Bra (pop. 30,000). For field stages, again, this is not a fashion show; you’ll be spending your time on farms. When you pack, roll your clothing so that it conserves space and wrinkles less. If you have friends or family visiting, ask them to save space in their bags to bring items to or from Italy so that you can rebalance your closet inventory as needed.

For students who opted for school housing, the kitchen equipment coverage is sort of spotty. If you care about this sort of thing, you should pack a good knife. With the extra space conserved by packing less clothing, and brought everything I thought I couldn’t cook without: colander, mixing bowl, thermometer, whisk, spatula, grater, measuring cups & spoons, peeler. Your room will come with a comforter, desk, lamp, and a wardrobe with 6 hangers, shelves and drawers. For the bed, you will need 3/4 size sheets, which is a size that is not sold in the US. I used full sheets instead and that worked well enough.
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A Brutally Honest Review of the University of Gastronomic Sciences

academics, ,

PLEASE READ: My original assessment of the UNISG masters program in 2011 is below, but I am thrilled to hear from current students/staff that UNISG has made significant progress in the years since I was a student there!

Sept. 2017: Michele Fino, a professor of law at UNISG, reached out to me to send an update on the UNISG masters program. It has been appended below.

April 2018: A masters student at UNISG reached out to me to send very detailed updates on the program. Their info has been appended below, and they will send an additional update at the conclusion of the program. I have kept their name confidential for privacy reasons.

********

This is a cathartic rant disguised as a meticulously planned assessment.

Over the past year, I have fielded questions from dozens of prospective students at the University of Gastronomic Sciences (UNISG). They sent heartfelt messages, wanting to know everything from what the classes are like, to whether vegetarians will be slapped in the face with a piece of prosciutto. I carefully replied to every email that was sent to me, giving answers that I felt were judicious while catering to the writer’s sensibilities. See, by the time most people have discovered UNISG, they have fallen in love with the school already, and idealize it as foodie heaven on Earth. Which to be fair, in many respects, it is.

I am not going to discuss the warm and fuzzy parts today; the rest of my blog does that already. Instead, I am going to give a completely uncensored portrait on what it’s like to be in the Food Culture & Communications (FCC) masters program at UNISG.

This piece will not make me popular, and effectively shoots myself in the foot, but I am a big believer in the Louis Brandeis adage that sunshine is the best disinfectant. It should go without saying that the views expressed herein are my own, and not necessarily supported by other UNISG students or the administration.
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What the Hell is Gastronomy, Anyway?

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May 2010

It’s the million-dollar question that everyone in my program has faced, yet no one seems to have a definitive answer. I have certainly given my 30-second elevator rendition of what gastronomy is (“Well er, it’s not cooking school, it’s sort of about the analysis of food’s role in the world…”), but I still have niggling doubts over whether I am simply talking out of my ass. Which is why I was secretly relieved when we had a seminar on gastronomy and its meaning.

Where do we begin? The English Wikipedia article on gastronomy begins with a broad definition, stating simply that “gastronomy is the study of the relationship between culture and food.” This begs the question of what is culture, but at least it provides a viable starting point for analyzing the breadth of gastronomy. On the other hand, the French Wikipedia article on gastronomy begins with the definition established by the Académie Française, which suggests that gastronomy is the set of social rules that define l’art de faire bonne chère, or the art of giving good cheer. Hmm, that isn’t nearly as engaging a subject.

Then, we launched into a discussion of food porn. Everyone in the class had heard of the phrase, but no one was brave enough to offer a definition. So, we paused to consider the characteristics of sexual pornography. This is definitely a subject befitting serious schoolars, because after all, even the Supreme Court has ruminated over the difference between obscene pornography and art. After some discussion, we decided that porn has many facets, but is generally in some way exploitative, features an idealized representation, and allows for distanced or vicarious enjoyment of the subject. In the same fashion, food porn offers an idealized portrayal of food held at a distance from the viewer. Though perhaps the tomato is not being exploited in the same way that actors in a porn film are.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZVAqNuFXIQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

Hmm, I’m not sure if I am any more enlightened than when I started, so I’m just going to sit on this for the next year or so…
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The Slow Evolution of Fast Money

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[gigya src=”http://prezi.com/bin/preziloader.swf” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowfullscreen=”true” allowscriptaccess=”always” width=”550″ height=”400″ bgcolor=”#ffffff” flashvars=”prezi_id=lyqatakeqlkv&lock_to_path=0&color=ffffff&autoplay=no&autohide_ctrls=0″]

Shamefully, it has been a month since I last posted, but at least the thesis brouhaha is over. I spent much of this weekend preparing slides for the presentation next week, and graduation for our class of gastronomes is set for Friday the 13th. Apparently, 13 is not an inauspicious number in Italian culture, however 17 is.

If you are interested in seeing the slides and some dizzying spatial effects, you can check out the presentation in Prezi.