Navigations

This month, Apple introduced via press conference that it's latest iPad is 20 percent more slender than the last iPad (thinner than a pencil), operates on a faster processor with a better camera, and harbors a finger print security feature Apple is calling, Touch ID.

The San Francisco chronicle adds Apple's new product introduction falls in line with it's strategy holding an event every October to push the company's newest products before the holiday shopping season.  


This month, people all over the world in discrete conferences with their hearts finally introduced the notion that maybe, just perhaps, the latest feelings he or she has been harboring towards that "special someone" is, in fact, love.


It's hard to tell, where the Touch ID feature came from or why the feature is here, or where Apple is going with it. We have always had 4 number or 4 patterned security features on our Apple devices. Now we have a security brief that trades our fingerprint for entry inside. We have Apple introducing Touch ID to us this October. We have our holiday shopping season to measure whether this feature and/or the others keep Apple's oligarchy steady climbing the commercial ranks. 

One thing to consider, when it comes to the heart, who climes the ranks? Other than our own, how can we establish features that allow fingerprints, touch, and identities to gain access to the most valuable parts of ourselves? In the land of silicon valley, in the city of San Francisco, in homes expected to fill with Touch ID security, how do we keep investing in our insecurities, armor-less-ness, and raw, wild, open hearts?

Technology like Apple's products are user friendly. Love, like many human "products" are not user friendly in the sense that no two humans operate in-love the same way. We can approach an Apple product with some ease because we know the general interfaces, the short-cuts, the rules, the aesthetics- will be constant. We cannot, on the other hand, approach each other with the same brand of ease that Apple has offered us. Human to human touch, lasting love, relationship, pleasure, orgasm, conversation, compassion, understanding- requires a certain depth and insight, which is achieved by investing the most precious things we have: our time, our love, our labor, and our willingness to learn.

These things are not simple like the action of pressing my own fingerprint to open the virtual insides of my beloved iPads. These things are complicated, it's about the fingerprints of my beloved, not my own.



Technology keeps us moving forward ("evolving"), yet instead of moving forward through time (centuries, millennia, epochs) we move forward with the conceptualization, production, and popularization of fascinating innovations that seem to offer us infinite versions of infinite spaces, in infinite solutions. We categorize Apple products into generations and systems. There is an order to what came before, what is now, and what may come to be. Operating on Snow Leopard was ten years ago. Operating on Yosemite is today. Where are you? Are you evolving or are you left behind?  

Two nights ago I watched a documentary called, "The Unbelievers", which profiles two great scientists in modern times, Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss as they make public appearances and speeches on various international platforms. It was fascinating to watch them think together, travel together, and confront religion, science, and other topics. Dawkins is an evolutionary scientist. Krauss, a physicist. Together they inspire masses of people around the world to understand reality, where we came from and where were going, and to behold the preciousness of life from a scientific point of view. Understanding and beholden to nature and evolution, we are able to assume a moral and actual responsibility to our race, societies, and planet, that comes not out of fear, ignorance, or manipulation as does in religion, but from a place of actual knowledge and inspiration to do better.

After watching the Unbelievers, reading about Apple's steady continuation of technologies I am beginning to wonder: how far have we gone with technological product and how far do we need to go? If we are as Dawkins and Krauss say- insignificant today in the spectrum of evolutionary change, but significant enough to make changes that directly effect our future as a race- then, who's driving the evolutionary choices we are making today and how do we make assuming responsibility about our future as a planet and as a race, COOL? 

In California, It's COOL that soon my fingerprint can unlock my iPad. It's COOL that soon my iPad will be skinnier than my last. It's not become COOL to talk about the fact that California is in a drought and we are confronting a water shortage. It is COOL to use dating Apps in San Francisco to meet potential mates. It is not COOL to talk about the fact that the majority of young San Franciscans are using dating Apps such as Tinder to have sex, never call afterwards, complain about that reality, and sign back on for more, and that's COOL. 


I wonder if Apple plays God, or we let Apple play God. Or, if god isn't your cup of tea, does Apple play the evolution card? Every October during the new apple launch, do we let Apple dictate a speedy, shiny, thin, and remarkably expensive evolution that we can control, see, and hear within our life times? Perhaps it gives some of us solace to cozy up next to our latest Apple gadget this Christmas, knowing tenderly that at least some of us had the means to evolve. 

Since when was evolution marketable, measurable, taxable, deliverable? Could technology be the white rabbit pulled out of the black hat of our darkest fears around not knowing our own evolution? To paraphrase Dawkins in The Unbelievers: We can't possibly understand a century of time gone by, nor a millennia, we are disconnected to our evolution as a race, which is so subtle over so much time.      




I connected with a friend of mine in recent weeks, after years of being apart. Our reconnection was wonderful and it makes my heart flutter in the direction of what I suppose feels like love. No App can measure for me what love is, where it comes from, or where it goes. I think we have to be willing to "go there", to invest the most precious parts of ourself for an unknown time. There are so many unknowns. I know when my iPAD unlocks, I do this. I do not know when my heart unlocks. I don't do this. You don't do this. This does this, the heart opens, and then your afraid and fearless at the same time. 

The security features that protect our products are advanced. Are the security features that protect our hearts as advanced? I hope that we keep somethings the old fashioned way. Not every feature of the heart plays by our rules, or the rules written by someone else's version of love. Not every October-December marks a speedy evolution for the must-haves. Not every lover is skinnier than the last. Our own fingerprint is not always more valuable than another's. What is valuable is thinking and feeling combined. Navigating the market and navigating the heart.      

     



           





  

Simple Pleasures

YOU ARE HOW YOU EAT

There is always the saying: you are what you eat. Though, I like to say: You are how you eat. We mustn't forget that food, as much as it is a noun, is also a verb. Cooking and eating is about experiencing pleasure.  That's how I like to look at it.

Sure, some people interact with food methodically, down to a science almost. Like professional runners for instance use food as utility, in scientific senses: 6 raw eggs, 5 mornings, before a 10 mile morning run gives me "x" amount of fuel. Still, not all people need to act with food as fuel like this. Some people act like how food is consumed has no meaning at all. For instance, impulsive bouts of eating at odd hours, overeating until one feels sick, fast food consumption, multi-taking eating while engaging in other activities, and consuming quantity rather than quality of food is of great concern to me. Why? Because in life we must be decisive about our actions, their meanings and consequences. If you are how you eat, if you are how you treat food, then what does that say about how you're living?

FOOD IS ALIVE and YOU ARE ALIVE

Food is alive and so are you. Packaged food, which has been sitting in plastic for weeks or months is like packaged minds and packages that seal immediate gratification for sale. Before agricultural practices spread through the world as the mans by which food would be processed, and before industrial and farming technologies overtook us, people would hunt and gather, which took effort, strength, time, and strategy. Today, the open lands and thickets where once we foraged and killed, are replaced with markets, grocers, and personal gardens, places where we can compactly pick our food with some sense of ease. Yet, how we prepare the food once we bring it into our homes often takes effort, strength, time, and strategy. How to prepare a butternut squash from it's oblong gourd into the oven, into the stew, into the pie, or into the soup? It's no easy feat for folks who want everything fast. Thankfully, the internet now stores millions of recipes that are just a click away. Still, why are people taking short cuts, buying packaged and pre-made foods?

 The highest grossing item in the produce section of markets across America today are items that are pre-packaged, pre-cut, pre-cooked, pre-everything. What gives? I point to "Time" and to American history. 

Time is a concept that Americans misunderstand the most. Americans reason that by buying "ready-made" foods it will cut down preparation and cooking time, so that meals are done faster and families have more time around the table to enjoy themselves. It might very well save time in some moments, but looked at over a longer period of time it cuts down the quality of life in other moments. Cutting, boiling, baking, seasoning, and garnishing is a process sure, but it adds a lot of value to life in those moments, especially when done as a family. Becoming closer to the process of preparing, cooking, and presenting food collectively as a family adds to the richness of the meal and the level of gratitude and understanding when eating. If, for example, children/families don't know the work that goes into planting a vegetable garden, tending to a vegetable garden, harvesting, and cooking vegetables, why should a child or family understand the pleasure and the satisfaction that vegetables bring to the senses, the body and taste buds? Time, then, is valuable only when it is spent and allocated smartly, wholly, and beautifully. Time is not always "saved" when pre-packaged, frozen peas served for supper cause children to throw protests against peas. Don't hate the game (peas), hate the player (frozen peas). Overall, we can do better with our time, I think, and better with our meals. That is if we remain reciprocal with food: The energy (preparation) I put in, Is the energy (quality calorie) I get out. 

Besides Time, American history offers a lens by which we can view how we eat, and why. In the history of American society there is only one reality that hasn't failed to touch EVERY sector of American life, especially, Americans and their relationship to food. That reality is War. WWI was the first war to present the army with new technologies in food preservation that would keep the soldiers fed and fighting. Foods were canned and processed in large factories using hydrogenated oils and other complex chemical additives that kept food on the shelves longer so that the coast of shipping food to soldiers could be kept to a minimum. After the war "ended" military foods maintained available in supermarkets across the country for purchase. These canned and lasting foods, such as SPAM, were then advertised to wives as products that would make dinners quick and delicious, and save wives trips to the supermarket for their long lasting shelf lives. For a generation of women who were stuck in the home and in kitchens for most of the day, cooking, baking, and trips to the supermarket became tiring and repetitive. Canned foods, packaged foods, TV-dinners, were the way of the future, and for most wives of the 1950's a mass "solution" to hurry their expected tasks along. 

In modern times we have a wealth of knowledge about the past and we can track our personal and national relationship with foods and consumption patterns. Today I find that my relationship depends on my ability to be aware of not only what I am eating, but how I am eating, and why. Today, we have more time (it seems) with the advent of technology than we ever had before. Historically, trade is the most open and food companies are the most transparent than ever before about what their adding and subtracting.

 So, it's important to ask oneself to imagine a future with food: Where am I going with food? 

DAILY RITUALS

       
How we eat. How we do anything at all. It has to do with rituals. Scheduling is a ritual. "To-do" listing is a ritual. Eating is a ritual. The best way to have a healthy and beautiful body you're proud of is to make daily rituals that reflect health and beauty. The income meets the outcome. 

MY DAILY RITUALS

Here are 5 of my daily rituals that make a positive effect on my mentality and food consumption, health, and beauty.

1. TEA

I drink tea every morning. I gave up daily coffee consumption two months ago, and I'm never going back. I drink black tea in the morning, one or two cups (early grey, english breakfast, etc). I find that having black tea in the morning lets me "wake-up" smoothly, rather than jolting myself with coffee or espresso. Of course I have an occasional espresso, but only if I decided I am in the mood for a treat, and only when I am out somewhere that serves delicious coffee with a barista who looks like he or she knows how to create something divine. After meals I drink herbal tea to settle my stomach and calm the nerves. I enjoy Ginger, Chamomile, Nettle, and Rose bud. Having a daily ritual of tea drinking is also an excuse for taking breaks in ones day, for taking time out for oneself, and for enjoying time with others- good for those who tend to keep to themselves, forget about slowing down, or have a trouble sleeping. Tea is great before bed.

2. COCONUT OIL

Natural, raw, coconut oil is good for the body all around. I use it to cook with (instead of olive oil or seed oils) and to put on my body after bathing. It makes your skin glow whether you ingest it through cooking or apply topically. Try it!

3.) GETTING EXPERIMENTAL 

I try not to stick to buying the same things at the market week after week. I find that my body and my mind is happier if I think outside of the box and cook foods i'm not familiar with. For example, instead of going through the internet searching for recipes I have never cooked before and then going to the sore, I usually go to my favorite market first and search in the produce section for the most beautiful or intriguing vegetable I can find. Then I buy that vegetable. I bring it home and then I look up the various ways it can be prepared AND (important) I do some light research on what that particular plant adds to my health and wellbeing. Sometimes you find that the plant you chose is high in a certain vitamin or mineral. It makes it all that more special when consuming what you found knowing that it's not only delicious  and new, but rooted in some positive addition to your health and wellbeing. I try to remember that experimentation is about keeping an open mind and being somewhat fearless. Even if I don't cook something experimental every single day I at least try to do one thing that is out of my "normal" consumption habit.        

4. TEND TO ALIVE FOOD 

My good friend Maeve's home is nestled in an area of Northern California called San Geronimo Valley, south of Napa and north of San Francisco. Her home sits on a gorgeous plot of land between towering hillsides. Her mother, who passed away two years ago, tended to their home garden since Maeve was a little girl. Today, Maeve continues to keep her mother's garden healthy and alive, producing beautiful herbs, vegetables, and flowers. Since I don't have the land at the moment, I have to find my own ways to invest in my daily ritual of tending to alive foods. When I visit Maeve I always go into the garden and pick tomatoes that are ripe, and tear off dead leaves where I can. At my house I have one living food that I tend to every day, a small Basil plant that sits in a blue pot. Everyday I go to my basil plant, give it water, and make sure the California sun isn't burning it's leaves too much. I think it is extremely important to tend to alive foods, especially for children to understand where food on the plate comes from. No matter if you are in an urban setting with no space for a garden, at least buy yourself an herb plant (Basil, Rosemary, Sage, etc), and tend to it to keep it alive! The Basil plant that I bought from my local market cost less money that it would have been to buy a large bundle of basil, a fabulous investment, your live plant will bring you more abundance for longer time!

(below: my little Basil plant)

5. SEDUCE YOURSELF

Selecting, preparing, cooking, and serving foods for group of friends or family is always about seduction. The right combinations, the right wine, or the right flavors can really set it off! I truly love hosting dinner parties and being a guest at dinner parties. So, why should I let go of the pleasurable experience of seducing with food when I am in the company of myself...party of one? One of the best rituals I feed into (no pun intended) is to try and seduce myself with food as if I were trying to seduce friends and family. For instance I love to prepare a delicious breakfast, use beautiful dishes, set the table, and put a flower in a vase on the table...even if i'm the only one eating. It's important to make yourself feel good in relationship to food, so that being single or eating alone doesn't stay lacking of pleasure or enjoyment. Just because your eating alone doesn't mean you need to eat quickly or in unhealthy ways. Or the opposite, just because you are cooking for your five children doesn't mean Macaroni and cheese is the only possibility on the menu! To remedy this I try and go out of my way to treat myself, cook with my own desires in mind, and make the food experience as delicious as possible. I try and choose foods that are colorful, in season, tasty, and foods that make me feel good. Try it!

A MORNING BREAKFAST IN PICTURES

Power-Greek-Yogurt and Fruits

          

Ingredients: Organic Peach, Banana, Unsalted almonds, Rasins, Bee Pollin, Macca Powder, Goji Berries

FAGE 0% (or 2%) Greek Yogurt 

Local Pure or Raw honey

Ready to eat Power-Greek-Yogurt and Fruits, and a cup of Mint, Truffle, Chocolate tea (this one by Mighty Leaf)

  

bon appétit!