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Jhumpa Lahiri at MIT Writer's Series

http://www.yelp.com/events/boston-mit-writers-series-jhumpa-lahiri

Let's go!

Local Harvest Website

Another cool website which locates organic food in your area in the form of farms, CSA, restaurants, groceries, and more!

Interpreter of Maladies

I found this reader's guide at the Hougthon Mifflin website for Interpreter of Maladies, our next book. I haven't read it yet but it may help get some discussion going for next time (Thurs. Feb. 21st, 7:30 at "C3").

(yes I realize I should be working, I'll get to that now!)

Slow Food Boston

I just got an email from Slow Food Boston, which Michael Pollan mentioned a couple times in the book. They are doing three food-related movie screenings and the first is King Corn -- which I missed at MIT the other day trying to brush up on my heretofore non-existant knowledge of the republican candidates as they debated at the Reagan Library (they're crazy by the way). The screenings are not free like they were at MIT, but I'm guessing the $5 goes toward SFB, which I'm not too dissappointed about. Read below for the email and check out the Slow Food International website for more ideas about eating sustainably. Happy Friday!




Hi All,

Since we here at at SF Boston HQ have more than a few lingering concerns about how our food is grown, how it's processed and how it gets from the field to our table, we figure you must as well. After all, you're on our email list! In order to explore these issues, we'll be gathering at the Theodore Parker Church in West Roxbury on the second Sunday of the month in February, March and April for some really important film screenings. Each screening will begin at 4PM and be followed by a round table discussion of the movie.


First up on Sunday February 10th will be King Corn. In the movie, two guys decide to move to Iowa and grow some corn - and in the process of planting, tending and harvesting find out some crazy things about agriculture in the US. Circumstances turn from merely crazy to truly troubling when they attempt to follow 'their' corn into the food system...


If you have any worries about agri-business and the way food is produced & processed in our country, you've GOT to see this movie! Ian Cheney, one of the filmmakers, will be attending the screening in order to talk about his experiences and answer questions from the audience. Cost is $5, payable in advance via check or with cash at the door.


Hope to see you there, Your friends at SFB HQ


PS: Please see our website for directions and info about possible childcare arrangements.

Slow Food Boston · 200 Sherman Street, Unit 3 · Cambridge · MA · 02140

Caledonia Farms etc.

I've been meaning to post this since the last meeting, sorry it's late. I mentioned a Polyface-esque farm in Barre, MA which has a metropolitan buying club here in Boston. The name is called Caledonia Farms and I found out about it via a website called Eat Wild. This is a great resource for all sorts of sustainable agriculture going on in our state and beyond. Enjoy!

NYT article of interest

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/weekinreview/27bittman.html?_r=4&em&ex=1201669200&en=3f189a22ce28dc36&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Check it out!

Polyface Farms!!

Look at the website I found during my lunch break today! I thought of looking them up as I guiltily popped blueberries into my mouth, feeling the heat of the january sun streaming through the window.

Let's take a vote for where to meet next thursday, Garden of Eden, Clear Conscience Cafe, or "other".

I vote Garden of Eden.

--Angela

oh Rushdie

I'm sorry I missed the meeting, I was in Maine....But then again, I only got one chapter into this book before I had to gag and then put it down. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I hope the meeting went well.

I'd love to read Kafka on the shore, I hear it's supposed to be good...but then I'd heard the same of the former.

Here's a link to the Powell's page for it, which has a bunch of reviews and customer comments. One line that I find both daunting (for myself as a reader not always into the metaphysical and esoteric) and exciting came from a 5 star review:

"I don't give 5/5 ratings lightly, but I can't in good conscience give this book anything less. If you have a thing for the metaphysical and esoteric, or simply love a good story, read this book. If you don't like those things, read it anyway. You might be surprised."

One solid meeting on the 17th, then we "exhile" Rushdie as well

I'm such a cheese ball--I hope that title isn't in poor taste.

Anyway, let's all meet up for one solid meeting about Rushdie's Satanic Verses (whether you've finished the book or not, please come). We'll plan to meet at 8 at 1369 in Inman and if it's crowded we'll saunter over next door to Bukowski's.

Shoot me an email should you need directions.

Anndd, if you're interested in grabbing some Indian food and having an informal meeting, give me a shout as well.

Looking forward to next month, does anyone have any suggestions? I remember that Kafka on The Shore had sparked some interest--how do people feel about moving to that for end of September/October?

8/13/07 Tonight's Meeting Cancelled

Sorry for the short notice!

Perfume: Another Connection Made

Not sure how many of you are Nirvana fans, but I thought this was interesting. Apparently Kurt Cobain was a huge fan of the book Perfume and modeled the song "Scentless Apprentice" after it.

For anyone interested, the lyrics:

Like most babies smell like butter
His smell smelled like no other
He was born scentless and senseless
He was born a scentless apprentice

Go away - get away, get a-way

Every wet nurse refused to feed him
Electrolytes smell like semen
I promise not to sell your perfumed secrets
There are countless formulas for pressing flowers

Go away - get away, get a-way

I lie in the soil and fertilize mushrooms
Leaking out gas fumes are made into perfume
You can't fire me because I quit!
Throw me in the fire and I won't throw a fit

Go away - get away, get away, get away, get away, get away, get a-way

Rushdie Wins!!

Hey all--wow, what a great meeting last week. Thanks to everyone who braved the crappy weather to head out to 1369.

We liked 1369 so much that we've decided to keep the venue for our next meeting. See you all on Monday, August 13th, 8pm at 1369 in Inman Square. We decided to take on Rushdie's The Satanic Verses for the month of August--it's a bit longer than our other contender, Kafka on the Shore, so will be a good fit before school restarts and people's schedules become tighter.

As always give me a shout with any questions.

Some interesting connections to Perfume

Reading perfume prompted me to start toying on the web, googling topics like: "sensory adaptation" and "olfactory hallucination." While I couldn't find too many scholarly pieces to read, I did come across a few definitions/points of interest. Olfactory hallucination was prompted by conversations that I regularly have with my boyfriend who is a mental health professional. I wondered, if Grenouille was brought to trial, modern day, how would he be judged/diagnosed. I feel almost certain that he would serve a lessor sentence due to insanity (but anyone with a legal background feel free to weigh in).

Just curious--did Perfume prompt any similar web searches from anyone else?

I'm posting some of my results below:

A definition:
Olfactory hallucination: A false perception of odor or smell. Typically, the experience is very unpleasant. For example, the person may smell decaying fish, dead bodies, or burning rubber. Sometimes, those experiencing olfactory hallucinations believe the odor emanates from them. Olfactory hallucinations are more typical of medical disorders than mental disorders.


Links:
http://chemse.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/27/7/611

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/hed/2000/00000040/00000007/art00092

http://health.ivillage.com/brain/0,,6blg,00.html

Update: Meeting Still On As Planned

Hi everyone,

I've gotten a few responses about next week. It looks like it's just a hard week for everyone :(. Anyway, it seems as if more people than not will be able to make it for the original meet time, so let's keep things as they were originally:

Monday, July 23 @ 8PM. Location: 1369 Coffee House, Inman Square

See you all there!

Questions? Directions? Other issues? Send me a a note.

Alli

Scheduling...Arggh!

I think either Erica or Jen said she had a problem with Monday the 23rd, and now I do, too. I have to go to the hospital at 3:30 for an exam and I don't know how invasive it's going to be -- whether I'll be up for going out that evening. My guess is it will be fine, but I don't want to cancel at the last minute. Considering other problems with Monday, I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to move it to Thursday maybe (my memory is that Tuesday and Wednesday were both bad). If that causes more problems, let's keep it at Monday and I'll be sure to feel better by 8! I just wanted to throw it out there. Hope your weeks are going well.

PS. Sarah -- my email is ajherring@gmail.com for directions to my house. Thanks again for offering a ride!

Hey everyone,

Great meeting last night.

Note, our next meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 23 @ 8PM. Location: 1369 Coffee House, Inman Square . Give me a shout if you need directions.

Per our discussion last night bring along a secondary text or any other piece of writing/art/anything that speaks to how you read/interpreted the book. We'll use the end of next week's meeting to decide on a read for the next month and to check in on the "flow" of our meetings.

For those of you not at the first meeting, contenders for next month are:
The Satanic Verses, Rushdie
Glamorama, Easton Ellis
Kafka on the Shore, Harukami

Use the comments to cast your votes--we also got some great suggestions for additional reads last night.

See you all soon,
Alli

a couple of links

Although I haven't met any of you yet, I'm going to post a few things.

First, the reading group guide from random house for Perfume.

And second, reading group tips provided by Powell's in Oregon, for any of you (like me) who haven't done this before....or have. Book Muse looks useful in general.

...I hope this is a proper use of the blog...this is my first blog post ever!

Wheeeeeeeee!

We are so cutting edge. Go us.

Perfume

For anyone interested, here are the trailer and teasers for the film adaptation of PERFUME (Das Parfum)






http://www.perfumemovie.com/